New Circumstances
by RavenpuffsRule
Summary: After facing years of abuse from their aunt, sisters Cassia and Cailey run away as an attempt to escape. But, little did they know, they will be plummeting into a different world-of Hetalia! :D Man, my summaries suck! :P
1. Chapter 1: The Escape

**Chapter 1: The Escape**

**Hey, everyone! This is my first fanfiction on Hetalia! (Don't worry, there will soon be more!) Anyway, I just want to say that there aren't any Hetalia characters in THIS chapter. Rest assured, they WILL appear in Chapter 2! Enjoy!**

Cassia's POV:

Springing up from the floor, I grab my sister's hand, and race to the door. My hand grabs onto the cool doorknob, and I twist it.

I fling open the door. The cool fall breeze hits me like a slap to the face. My younger sister is crying behind me.

We have to escape. Where? I don't know. But it has to be some place far away from here.

We run down the worn concrete stairs, and onto the driveway. Our feet patter on the hard asphalt. It's so quiet.

For a moment, I look back. There was the house that I lived in for about a year. The door was made out of oak; the porch and stairs starting to fall apart. One of the windows was smashed.

A year too long.

"You little s****!"

My aunt's screams ruin the quiet scene. I start running again. My sister is trailing and whimpering behind me, but we can't stop. I can't allow her to catch up with us.

I hear the car engine start. My heart beats even faster. All of this adrenaline is pumping through my veins.

"YOU WON'T GET AWAY YOU S****," our aunt shouts at us.

Cailey and I make it to the sidewalk across the street, and we keep running.

"Cassia, hurry up!" Cailey shouts. I know her leg hurts, that's why she's been limping. My sister and I run until we reach the end of the street. The stop sign makes me pause for a second; the bright red shines in the light of the streetlamps.

_Just look back! Only once!_ I tell myself.

I force my head to turn, and there she is. My aunt's car is following us. I decide to alternate between streets. I sharply turn left, making my aunt swear loudly again, and my sister sob a bit.

"We have to keep going, Cailey. She's going to catch up with us!" I tell her. Newly fallen leaves crunch beneath our feet.

"I know," she sniffs. "I'm just in a lot of pain!"

Green hedges and barren trees fly past us. My legs are getting tired, but I keep moving.

…

By now, my legs are heavy as weights, and my sister won't stop crying. We're slowing down.

"Is she still there?" I ask her, but I already know the answer. I hear the car's horn echoing into the night.

"Yeah," she replies. We make it to the end of the block, and then I turn right.

My aunt's car swerves.

I see the sign saying that we're nearing the highway. The perfect escape.

"Sis, we're going to the highway! Are you trying to get us killed?" Cailey shouts at me.

I snort. We were most likely going to be killed by our _aunt_ then the highway. Nothing matters at the moment. Not the moon, the stars, or even the fear of my aunt . I keep running, getting closer and closer.

When we get to the highway, though, I immediately regret the decision. Cars of all shapes and sizes are zooming past us. Many of the drivers and passengers stare at us while they fly by. We must be a peculiar sight: One of us with a black eye, the other with a huge gash on her calf. Not to mention the numerous bruises on our arms and legs.

I have no choice, though. My aunt could be driving up the road any second, now. Just standing here and thinking is wasting time.

_What do I do? _I scream at myself. My lungs are burning like fire from all of that vigorous running.

Time is ticking.

Instinct taking over, I grab my sister's wrist, and take off again. I decide to run straight forward. Cars are speeding past us, and we run along beside them.

…

Cailey and I run on the grassy road right beside the highway.

We can't keep running here forever. This highway probably stretches out for miles. I'm scared that my sister might bleed to death from the gash on her leg.

Once I see a sign that mentioned at exit, I lead Cailey towards it.

Nothing is there, just an abandoned road. No houses are around either.

I'm such a stupid git! What do we do know?

I start to follow a faded sidewalk next to the street, but Cailey jerks me back. She points towards the road, where a bundle has been dropped. It looks familiar, but it's too far away to see why.

"Cailey, we really should get help. It's your leg you should be concerned about!" I tell her.

I realized that my sister isn't following me. She's gone to the street, to retrieve the bag.

"Cailey, hurry up! A car can come at any moment!" I shout at her. She takes her time.

I sigh in defeat. Bad memories keep creeping into my mind. I try to push them back as best as I can.

I'm on the lookout for any cars, when I see lights at a distance. They are barely noticeable, but the lights get larger and larger.

That's when my brain makes a connection.

Car.

Cailey.

Crash.

Dead.

_I have to save her!_ My brain yells.

I lunge towards Cailey. My hands reach her back, and I push her towards the opposite sidewalk. I hear a thump. She's safe.

I sigh with relief. I momentarily forget that there is a car coming towards me at about 70 miles per hour.

Someone shouts my name.

Something comes crashing into my side.

Suddenly, I'm flying through the air.

Cailey's POV:

"CASSIA!" I scream. I drop the bag and race to where Cassia landed.

I stare at the car, a shiny Polvo, while it speeds away. I silently curse at it.

_My sister!_ I think.

I look back down at Cassia. Her breaths are short and jagged. She seems to be unconcious.

_God, please don't let her be dead!_ I plead. _She's my sister! I need her! She's all I have._

Those words echo in my head.

_She's all I have._

I sigh. Why did Mom and Dad have to go?

Suddenly, my sister shifts. Her eyes slowly open. She blinks a couple of times, then looks up at me.

"Cassia, are you okay?"

She narrows her eyes at me. "_You don't say?_" Cassia answers me sarcastically.

I sigh again. Thank God. She's still the same.

Cassia's POV:

I lie there on the grass.

Everything hurts.

I want to say that I'm fine, that everything's okay, but I know that'll be a lie.

Cailey's POV:

I look at Cassia again. Red splotches cover her shirt.

"OH MY GOD YOU'RE COUGHING UP BLOOD,CASSIA!" I scream. My breath gets faster. My hands start to tremble.

Stay strong, Cailey. Everything will be alright.

I can't even lie to myself!

Cassia starts to move again, but I stop her.

"Moving's only going to make it worse." I tell her.

_The bag!_

My hand reaches into the bag. I looks for any paper to wipe up the blood. Speaking of that, my leg has started to bleed again.

Luckily, I find a pack of tissues.

"Cailey," my sister says.

I turn my head towards her.

"Yeah?"

"That bag..it's mine." Cassia tells me. It is. I finally recognized it. Maybe some person coincidentally left it here.

"Your leg.." my sister points at my calf. "I don't want you to bleed to death."

"This is more important!" I shout.

I gingerly hold a tissue up to Cassia's mouth to quiet her down.

Cassia's POV:

Cailey holds the tissue up to my mouth.

"Sing to me." I say.

My sister looks at me as if I were crazy.

"This isn't the Hunger Games." She mutters.

"Please," I say. "For your dying sister?"

Cailey glares at me. "You're not going to die, okay?"

"I know." I admit. I think about what would happen if I _did_ die. Where would Cailey go? How would Aunt Carol react? Would I be buried next to my parents?

"But…what if I do?" I ask her.

"You're NOT going to die, OK?" Cailey shouts at me. Her lip is quivering. I can tell that she's trying her best not to cry.

"Sorry, Cailey," I apologize. "I'm just scared, that's all." It's true. I don't want to die. Not here! Not now!

Cailey looks down at me. I must look weak and helpless, lying there on the ground.

She sighs, but she starts to sing Safe and Sound, by Taylor Swift.

My eye lids begin to feel heavy.

"I remember tears streaming down your face, when I said I'll never let you go-"

While Cailey watches for any cars passing by, I'm blaming myself for getting us into this mess.

"-when all those shadows almost killed your light."

I was sure that this plan was going to work.

"I remember you said, "Don't leave me here alone."

I want to sleep. I shouldn't, though. I need to keep an eye out for any dangers.

"But all that's dead and gone and pasted tonight."

I close my eyes and think about the events that lead us to this.

"Just close your eyes; the sun is going down."

"You'll be alright. No one can hurt you now."

Flashes of memories, both good and bad, go through my head.

"Come morning light…You and I'll be safe, and sound."

Cailey's voice echoes.

"Sound...sound…sound…"

Well, at least we got away.


	2. Chapter 2: The Rescue

**Chapter 2: The Rescue**

Italy's POV:

Germany, Japan, and I were headed back to our hotel room after another world conference. It was really loud, and Germany had to tell everyone to shut up, again.

All I wanted to do was get some pasta! I'll make it, too! With tomato sauce, and parmesan cheese, too!

The three of us were in Germany's car. We were driving on a highway in New York.

America's place looked nice. There are really tall buildings everywhere, and there are so many cars around!

"Oh, look, Germany!" I said. My head was sticking out of the window. I spotted a car with a funny name on its license plate. _Pennsylvania. _

"What does _Pennsylvania_ mean?" I asked Germany. He was sitting in the driver's seat.

"Italy, please take your head out of the window!" Japan told me. He was sitting in the seat in front of me. He looked worried.

"~Ve, but it's-a fun, Japan! You should try it!"

"I agree with Japan," Germany said, "take your head out!"

I pulled my head back into the car. I always listened to Germany. He and I were best friends forever!

I thought about the world conference.

Everyone was seated at a long, round table. I sat between Japan and Germany.

"_Hey, dudes, let's get this meeting started!" America said over everyone else's conversations. _

His pasta is okay. I think he shouldn't have put hamburger in it, though.

"_Okay, are there any world problems that should be discussed?" America continued._

"_Honestly, America," England said. _

I had his pasta before. I still have nightmares about it.

"_Why are you in charge of this month's bloody conference? I told you we should have had it at my place. Tea and scones would have been served, and furthermore-" _

"_Yeesh, England." America interrupted. "Just go home if you want your "precious" scones so bad." _

"_YOU BLOODY GIT! I CAN HEAR SARCASM IN YOUR VOICE! MY FOOD IS THE BEST IN THE WORLD-"_

"_Oh honhonhonhon!" France laughed._

His pasta is really good! He put some weird leaves in it, though.

"_Iggy, if food were actually _good_ in your country, I might as well be an engineer!" _

"_SHUT UP, YOU GIT! NOBODY WANTS YOU HERE, ANYWAY!"_

After that, allllll of the nations started talking about food.

"_Tomatoes are really tasty, right, Romano?" Spain winked at Romano._

"_I particularly like my food, and that's all, aru." China added. _

"_No, China! I made your food! It was all my idea!" South Korea claimed. _

_I turned to my big brother, Romano._

"_~Ve, my pasta is really good! Let's get some pasta after this, okay, Romano?" I told my brother. _

"_Whatever." He said. "As long as it's not with that potato b******."_

"_Germany's coming!" I told Romano. "So is Japan!"_

"_I'm not coming then!" Romano yelled._

I admit I was disappointed that Romano didn't want to come. He doesn't seem to like Germany.

Everyone kept arguing and showing off their food until Germany spoke up.

"_EVERYONE SHUT UP! THIS IS A WORLD MEETING! WE ARE HERE TO DISCUSS PROBLEMS, NOT BRAG ABOUT OUR COUNTRY'S MENU'S!" Germany shouted at everyone. "NOW EVERYONE, SIT BACK DOWN-"_

"Scheisse!" Germany swears loudly. I turn my focus back to the present.

"What is wrong, Germany-san?" Japan asks. Germany slows down to a deserted road. He then opens his car door, and gets out.

"It looks like the tire has popped."

Germany examines one of the front wheels.

"How long will this take to repair?" I ask. I really want to eat some pasta-ooh! And some gelato, too!

"Be patient, Italy." Germany says to me.

I get out of the car for some nice, fresh air. Japan chooses to stay in the car.

"Come on, Japan! The air out here is better than sitting in that stuffy car!"

Japan shakes his head.

"Don't stay too long, Italy!" Germany says.

"Of course," I smile.

I walk away from the car. The grass is very dry and crunchy. It kind of looks like broken pieces of that instant spaghetti America showed me. I like homemade pasta better.

The road is really empty. I don't see any houses around.

I am looking around, thinking about which tomatoes to use in my pasta, when I see something move.

I freeze. I hope it wasn't a rat. Please don't let it be a rat! Rats are really scary, and I've heard they give you rabies! I don't want rabies! You have to gets shots for that! I don't like shots, especially needles! There are sharp and pointy, like a sword! Swords are scary too!

Something touches my leg.

"GERMANY!" I scream. What if a rat touched me? What if it was a needle, or even a sword? All of those things are scary!

I look down, and I see two little girls lying down on the grass. I sigh. I'm so happy it wasn't a rat!

Both of the girls are asleep. I wonder how they got there, though. And why does one of them have a cut on her leg?

Oh, no! What if the rats got to them? What if they have rabies? What if the rats come and take those girls to a place far away and dangerous?

A hand touches down on my left shoulder.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHH!" I shriek.

"Calm down, Ita-chan. It's only us." Japan says. I turn to them. He and Germany are behind me.

"~Ve, is the car fixed, yet?" I asked them.

"Ja, ja." Germany said. "Why were you screaming?"

"Well, I was walking down the road thinking about pasta. You know how much I like pasta, Germany. I was thinking about how much cheese I should put in it, and which tomatoes I should use for the sauce-"

"Cut to the chase, Italy!" Germany says impatiently.

"What chase is there to cut?" Japan asks, confused.

I remember!

"Oh yeah! Germany, I found these two girls lying on the ground!"

Germany's eyes widen. "Two…girls?" He asks. He looks behind me, and there they are.

"How long were they there?" Japan asks.

"I don't know. They were already here when I spotted them!" I tell him. Japan rushes towards them, and bends down. He takes two fingers, and puts them on the each of the girls' necks.

"They are still alive." He says, starting to examine one of the girls' legs. "But they need medical care right away."

Germany closes his eyes for a moment, and then opens them again. "We'll take them to a hospital in my car- just put a cloth over the seats, okay?"

I grab the younger girl, and hold her in my arms. She looks nice, other than the different colored spots all over her arms and legs. Japan takes the older one. She has the same spots on her skin, too.

"Japan, what are these spots? They don't have a disease, do they?" I ask him while we are taking them back to the car. Germany is walking ahead of us.

"No," Japan says back. "They are bruises." He and I put the girls in the back seat. Japan takes shotgun, (a word America told me that meant the seat next to the driver's one) Germany is the one to drive, and I sit in the back with the girls.

Germany starts to drive, looking at the signs nearby for any hospitals that might be around.

I wonder; who would hurt two innocent girls?

…

A few minutes later, I feel something move beside me. I see that the older-looking girl has moved, and she opens her eyes for a moment. Her eyes are a nice green, like England's. She stares at me for a moment, and then she says, "Hi Italy."

Her eyes close again, and that's when I notice that her breathing is kind of weird.

I look out of the window. Maybe they serve pasta at the hospital.


	3. Chapter 3: The Rescue Continues

**Chapter 3: The Rescue Continues**

Germany's POV:

We are now driving to a hospital.

Apparently, Italy found these two little girls on the side of the road. I don't exactly know what they were doing there.

Italy seemed really worried about them, so I decided to take them to a hospital nearby.

So far, no luck.

Honestly, I didn't want them in my car. I'm not cold-hearted, I just didn't want foreign germs in my car. What if they had a disease of some sort?

"Hey, Japan," I asked. "What do you think is wrong with those girls?"

Japan turned to look at me. "I suspect that they have been physically injured. I'm not sure what the source is, though."

I focused back on the road with relief.

I looked at each sign that we were passing by. None of them signaled a hospital.

Italy was singing in the back seat.

"~Ve, Pasta, pasta, I love pasta! It's a wonderful food!"

The song was already giving me a headache.

…

"~Ve, Pasta goes with anything! Cheeses, tomatoes, and more!"

My hands gripped the driver's wheels tighter.

"Pasta is so good, that I'll even eat it from the floor!"

I really hoped that the song would end, but Italy kept making up new verses.

"Pasta, pasta it's so tasty, that I-"

"BE QUIET, ITALY!" I shouted at him. My head was throbbing from the numerous shouts of "PASTA!"

"S-sorry, Germany." Italy said quietly. "I thought that singing about pasta would cheer everyone up!"

I suddenly noticed a blue sign with a white _H_ pass by on the road.

"Japan, what does a blue sign with an _H _stand for?" I asked him.

Japan opened his tourist booklet. He flipped the pages quickly, then read a page of the book.

"The sign that you have mentioned means Hospital. I think that is what we are looking for."

"Thanks you Japan," I tell him. "Now, start looking for any buildings nearby. A hospital should be coming by soon."

Japan nodded, and started to search the black sky for any buildings.

…

A large building passes by. Cars with red, blaring sirens are parked near the place. Many lighted windows shine in the night sky.

"I think that is the American Hospital," Japan says.

"I agree."

I drive my car into the nearest exit.

"~Ve, are we there yet?" Italy asks us.

"Just be patient, Italy." I say simply.

We soon get to the parking lot leading to an emergency room. There aren't a lot of car in the lot; therefore finding a space to park is very easy this time.

The moment I stop the car, Italy jumps out. He starts running to the entrance doors of the hospital.

"Ita-I mean, Veneziano, wait!" I shout at him. I decide to use our human names for the time being.

"You remember your human name, right, Japan?"

Japan nods his head again. He gets out of the car, too, and lifts the older girl out of the car. Her brown hair is covering her face.

Noticing that Italy has already crossed the street, I guess that _I_ have to carry the other child.

I open my car door, and get out of the car. I then walk to the back seat, and open that door.

The girl is lying on the back seat. She is breathing okay, unlike her companion. Her leg seems to be the main problem, though. Blood has stopped leaking out of it, but I am worried that it would get infected.

I wince before I lift her onto my arms. She looks so innocent.

"Let's go in, then." I say to Japan.

He and I walk across the street, carrying the two limp girls.

When we get to the entrance, the doors open automatically. I jump back.

"Germany, this is so fun!" Italy says, hopping in and out of the hospital doors, making them swing open and shut.

"Stop messing around, Italy!" I tell him.

We immediately see a hand sanitizer dispenser. I rush over, put the younger girl over my shoulder, and shove my hands under the sensor. A foamy substance fills my hands. I gratefully rub the sanitizer on my hands.

Italy is already ahead, spinning around, and waving to strangers.

"Veneziano, come!" I tell him. He and Japan follow me into a waiting room. Nearly no one is there.

I walk up to a receptionist. Her eyes widen when she sees Japan and I carrying the kids.

"C-can I help you s-sir?" The lady asks feebly.

"Yes, you can." Japan answers.

The lady cocks her head at him.

"What he means is, we need medical attention for these two girls." I say.

She nods, then calls for some assistance.

…

A few minutes later, a group of doctors and nurses arrive, and they take the two girls.

They then lay each girl on her own gurney. Soon, they are whisked away from our sight.

"~Ve, where are those people taking them?" Italy inquires. "Are they going to be okay?"

"They will be fine, Veneziano." Japan reassures them.

Italy and Japan turn to look at me.

"What do we do now, Ludwig?" Japan asks, using my human name.

I close my eyes to think. Should we stay? We need to get packing for the trip back home, which is scheduled for tomorrow night.

"I think we should leave." I tell them.

Italy's shoulders sag. "I wanted to make sure they'll be alright."

I turn to Japan.

"Well, Kiku, what do you think we should do?" I ask him.

"I think we should visit them sometime tomorrow. It would be rude to not see them."

I sigh. "Ok, we'll come tomorrow morning."

Italy's face brightens up.

"Really?" He says, bouncing up and down on his toes.

I nod in reply.

"HOORAY!" Italy shouts happily. He starts to run around again.

"Veneziano!" I yell. "Remember about your pasta?"

It was the only way to make him stop causing mayhem.

Italy freezes.

"PASTAAAAA!" He shouts, sprinting to the door.

Japan and I follow him out of the hospital doors. We walk across the street, meeting Italy at the car. I get inside, and Italy starts to sing about pasta again.

"Pasta, pasta, it's so good, eating it is a treat!"

"Pasta, pasta, it's so delightful, all I could do is eat!"

I sigh.

EXTRA SCENE:

As I sit at the hotel room, I wonder...

"Dinner is ready!" Italy's voice rings out.

I get up from my seat on the couch, and go into the kitchen area. Italy is standing there in an apron, a bowl full of pasta in his hands.

Japan is kneeling at the floor table. I slip off my shoes to join him.

Italy takes off his shoes, and places the bowl on top of the table. The tableware is already set up, and Italy starts to scoop out pasta for each one of us.

"And one scoop for you, Germany, and one scoop for you, Japan! Italy says happily. He scoops out his own pile of pasta, and plunks it onto his plate. He pours some homemade tomato sauce onto the dish. Italy then takes the container of Parmasen cheese, and spreads it onto the pasta, also.

I just sprinkle a tiny bit of cheese on my pasta. Japan puts a generous amount of everything onto his plate of food.

"~Ve, now let's begin!" Italy chants.

We all begin to eat; none of us speal for a while.

Italy then perks up. He grins, pasta in his mouth.

"We can give some pasta to the girls when we visit!"

Japan nods in agreement. "I think that would be very polite, Italy."

Italy looks at me for approval. "Can we?"

"Sure, Italy." I say to him.


	4. Chapter 4: I'm Awake!

**Chapter 4: I'm Awake**

**Thanks so much for reading, everyone! Also, sorry if your reviews got erased. -.- I had to revise some things in Cassia's part! **

Cassia's POV:

When my eyes open again, I look straight up.

I'm awake!

A white ceiling is there instead of a night sky.

Where am I?

I sit up. "Ouch!"

Mental note, don't do that again.

I look to where the shot of pain came from, and I see that my side has been wrapped in bandages.

Cailey would of laughed to see me screw up, for once.

Speaking of my sister, where is she?

I get up from the bed I was laying on, and start to search for her. I hope she's alright.

The sun is just coming out when I look through the window.

I notice a bandage on my hand. I pry it off a bit, and find that a needle in there. It's connected to a long tube that extends towards a bag of clear fluid.

We must be in a hospital, and that needle must be an I.V. I don't want to take the needle out, so I grab the cart holding the bag of fluid, and drag it along.

Ignoring the slight pain at my side, I walk up to a curtain. Brushing the hair out of my face, I quietly pull it sideways.

There is my sister. She's still sleeping. Her leg is bandaged, and I see where some blood has leaked out.

I walk up next to her bed, and tap her gently on the shoulder.

When that doesn't work, I shake her a bit.

"Huh? What?" My sister sits up immediately.

"It's just me, it's Cassia." I tell her.

Cailey looks at me. She sighs gratefully.

"Thank goodness, I thought we were still in the highway!"

"How's your leg?" I ask her. She moves her leg.

"It's fine."

"What?" I look at her suprisingly.

I think for a minute. How is it alright? Maybe the knife didn't dig as deep as I thought.

Wait. Who rescued us?

"Maybe we can find a way to-" I began to say.

"I think I'll check on the girls, now, Bethie. See you at lunch." A male voice says outside.

"Don't say anything about the healing or where you got the cut." I whisper curtly to her.

Cailey nods before lying down on her bed again. She closes her eyes, and pretends to be asleep.

I hear the doorknob wiggling.

_Gotta move!_

I rush to the curtain and pull it closed. I grab the cart tighter as I try my best to run back to my bed.

I hear the door open, and I make it to my bed in time. I throw the covers over my body, and close my eyes.

I hear murmuring in Cailey's section of the large room.

Now what?

…

Japan's POV:

"JAPAN!" Italy shouts, opening my door.

I sit up on my hotel bed. Italy can be so loud at times.

"I am awake, Italy." I tell him.

"Ve~ Come on, get up! We're going to see the two _principessas_ (princesses) today!" Italy shouts excitedly.

"Yes, Ita-chan." I say to him. "Let me just get ready, if that is alright with you."

"Sure, Japan!" Italy says cheerfully, running out of the room. He starts to sing about pasta again.

I go to the bathroom, and get ready for the morning.

…

After brushing my teeth and putting on my usual uniform, I walk out of my room to meet Germany and Italy.

I see that they are both in the living room. I find a spot on the couch, and sit down. Italy gets up, and runs toward the kitchen to get the container of pasta he saved for the girls.

I was wondering what happened to those two girls that we found last night. I suspect that one or both of them were hit by a car. I only hope that they will be alright.

"Ok, guys! I'm ready!" Italy yells out; he runs back into the room.

Germany gets up. "Ok, everyone into my car."

We all exit our suite, and head to Germany's car.

"Ve~ Can I get shotgun this time, Japan?" Italy asks me.

I am confused by his statement.

"I do not understand what you mean by "shotgun." I tell Italy.

"Oh, shotgun is just some American word that means the seat that is next to the driver's!" Italy explains to me.

"Arigato, Ita-chan." I thank him.

"Let's go, everyone!" Germany tells us.

Germany takes the driver seat, Italy sits in the "shotgun," and I take my seat in the back.

…

Italy is singing about the pasta. His song is actually quite catchy, though I do not think that Germany enjoys it.

"Italy, quiet!" Germany says impatiently.

"Sorry, Germany." Italy says. He is holding the tub of pasta on top of his lap.

"Do you remember where the hospital was, Japan?"

I nod. I remember where it was. I take my camera out. I take a few photographs of the strange trees around the road.

...

"Can I help you, sirs?" The receptionist says. She is not the same women from yesterday night.

"Ja, can we visit someone?" Germany says to the lady.

The women types into her computer. Then, she turns back to us.

"What are your names, please?"

Germany steps up. "I am Ludwig Beilschmidt."

I bow. "My name is Kiku Honda."

Italy walks up to the lady. "And I'm-a Feliciano Vargas!"

"Now, who will you be visiting?" She asks me kindly.

I think for a moment. I do not think that we know the names of the two girls.

"Ve~ We don't-a really know their names, but they are-a two little girls!" Italy says. He starts to spin around. I hope that he does not fall.

"We brought them here last night." Germany tells the receptionist.

The lady perks up.

"Oh, yes!" She says. The lady opens a large, fat book. Her fingers flip some pages, before settling down at one.

"The two girls are in room 103."

The lady smiles as she pushes a button that open a large set of doors near her desk.

"Enjoy your visit!" She says to us. I bow to her once more. For some reason the gesture is making her blush.

Cailey's POV: Earlier that morning...

"Y-Your leg..." The doctor trailed off.

I look down at my right leg. The bandages that were on it were taken off. The doctor was probably expecting it to have the cut still.

"I-Um…" I tried to give him an answer, but I was too scared to go on.

My cut was gone, well, mostly. A scar was there now, but it was _much_ better than yesterday. Cassia was suprised.

"How did your leg heal so quickly?" The doctor asks. His eyes were big.

I don't know what to say! My hands start to tremble, as they usually do when I get nervous.

"U-um…" I stammer.

I can't tell him the truth! What do I say? _What do I say? _I don't know what to do. I look down at my hands instead of the guy's stare.

_Okay, Cailey. Hold it together. Don't panic. _

The doctor is still staring at me when I look up at him.

"I...I don't know!" I say to him.

He looks at me suspiciously, and then turns away. He starts walking towards my sister. Luckily, he keeps the curtain separating us open.

My sister sits up confidently. She's so brave. I don't know why, but ever since we became under Aunt Carol's control, she's always looking out for me. Cassia always let me have the easier life by messing up so that Aunt Carol wouldn't hurt me as much.

Cassia just stares at the doctor while he inspects her.

"B-but…your ribs were bruised…how did they already start to heal?" The doctor asks her. "It should have started at least 4 days after the injury!"

Cassia doesn't say anything. She just stares back at the doctor. She was a rock.

I would call Cassia that sometimes, Rock.

I think about the day she turned into Rock.

**FLASHBACK! XD**

_I hear the door open, then slam shut. _

_My head perks up at the sound. Cassia must be in a mood. _

_ I check the clock in our room: 3:00. _

_Oh, no…Cassia's late!_

"_So, there you are." I hear Aunt Carol sneer. _

_Even though I'm not allowed to, I sneak outside of my room, and crouch down next to the top of the stairs. _

_There's Cassia. Her clothes are dirty…then again, so are mine. _

_Anyway, Aunt Carol's eyes are narrowed. _

"_Where were you, you piece of s***?" _

"_I stayed after school." My sister says feebly. She starts to tremble. _

_Here it comes! I say in my head._

_My aunt reaches over, and slaps Cassia in the face. Cassia staggers back into the wall. She manages to hold herself together._

"_I told you not to stay after school! Who knows if you were telling them about our secret?" Aunt Carol shouts at Cassia. _

"_I didn't." Cassia answers quietly. _

_Aunt Carol slaps Cassia again, harder this time, though. Cassia crumbles onto the floor, face in her hands. _

"_DON'T TALK BACK TO ME, MISSIE!" Aunt Carol shouts again._

_Cassia tries to get up, but Aunt Carol hits her. She falls on the floor again._

"_Don't you dare get up! YOU HEAR ME?" She screams at Cassia. _

_"P-please...stop!" Cassia moans._

_Aunt Carol then slaps Cassia again. _

_A gasp accidentally escapes my mouth. Aunt Carol looks up the staircase. _

_Oh, no! She's spotted me!_

"_YOU!" Aunt Carol screams at me. "YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO BE IN YOUR ROOM, YOU LITTLE S***!" _

_Aunt Carol starts to march up the stairs. _

_What have I done? I think. Now _I'm_ going to get hit! _

_Then suddenly, something happens so fast that I can barely describe it!_

_Cassia is on her feet again. Her back is straight and tall. _

_Aunt Carol looks at Cassia. She momentarily forgets about me. _

"_I. TOLD. YOU. TO. NOT. GET. UP." Aunt Carol says with grinding teeth._

"_I'm tired of you hurting Cailey!" Cassia shouts. "You can hurt me, but not my sister! I don't care what you say, I'll never give up! You can't stop me!"_

_Aunt Carol freezes, taken aback at what Cassia just said to her. _

_A second later, however, Aunt Carol turns back to her normal self. _

"_I'LL SHOW YOU!" Aunt Carol shrieks. She grabs Cassia's arm, then drags her up the stairs, Cassia stumbling on every other step. _

_I run to my room, close the door, and bow my head down, as always. _

_Aunt Carol bursts open the door, Cassia trailing behind her. Her cheek is bright red._

_She takes Cassia, and opens the closet door. _

_What is she going to do? I wonder._

_Next thing I know, Cassia is thrown into the closet. _

"_You'll be in there for 3 days!" Aunt Carol laughs sinisterly before locking the door with a key. _

_Then, she gains sight of me. _

_Aunt comes over to me, and only slaps me once. Then she leaves. _

_**FLASHBACK OVER! **_

Cassia was in that closet for three days. No food, nothing.

She cried for the most part during her stay in the closet. I wasn't allowed to give her any food. I did sneak some though.

When she came out, she turned into a rock. Her emotions seemed to disappear.

"Sis!" Cassia says, interrupting my thoughts.

"Yeah?" I answer her. She's standing next to my bed, now.

Cassia only acts like her true self around me, but that even _that_ happens rarely. Whenever she's happy, she even smiles!

"I sure confused that doctor, huh?" She says grimly. I know that Cassia is trying to be cheerful. It doesn't work, though.

"Yeah, so did I."

A knock on the door interrupts our conversation.

"Girls?" A male voice asks.

"Yes?" I say, starting to tremble again. I hope he doesn't ask us about our "stupefying healing powers."

"There are three men outside who would like to speak to you."


	5. Chapter 5: A New Hope

**Chapter 5: A New Hope**

**I know that in this chapter, Cassia doesn't know what Hetalia is, even though she supposedly knew in Chapter 1. I decided that Cassia and Cailey would have no idea what Hetalia is. That would just ruin the plot of the story. Enjoy! Oh, and reviews would be _very _appreciated! :D**

Cassia's POV:

_We've been discovered! _I think to myself.

Cailey's hands tremble as she stares at the door.

"C-Cassia," she says. "C-Could they be Social Security?"

I put my hands on her shoulders. For a 12 year old, she's pretty short. And paranoid. I blame my aunt for the latter, though.

"Let's hope they're not." I say gruffly.

Cailey's eyes are still wide in fear.

I sigh. Sometimes I wish that she were calmer.

I look into her amber eyes, which contrast with my bright green ones.

"Cailey, calm down; we'll be alright. I'm here." I tell her reassuringly.

Cailey nods once before we hear the doctor again.

"Girls?" He asks.

"We're coming!" I say as cheerfully as I can manage. It's harder than what it seems.

"Are you ready, Cailey?" I ask her before reaching for the doorknob.

"Y-Yeah." She replies. Her hands are still trembling.

I open the door. Light shines out of the bright room. I grab my sisters hand, and we both walk outside.

The sight in front of me is really weird.

There are three men, but they don't look like Social Security.

First off, they're not even wearing suits!

Secondly…they all look so different.

Not like that's weird or anything…it's just…

"Ve~Hello!" A man with brown-red hair says cheerfully to me. A large curl is sticking out the side of his head.

Hm…he must be Italian, judging by the accent.

"Konichiwa." A short man with short black hair bows.

"Eh- hello," a blond man with piercing blue eyes says to us.

I don't know what to say… I didn't expect this…

Cailey is obviously scared, though. She hides behind me.

"U-uh…hi." I say simply.

"These men brought you here, girls." The doctor smiles.

Wait, _they_ rescued us?

My sister moves beside me.

"Ve~you're so tiny! Like Jap-" The Italian says, pointing to Cailey. The blond man clamps his hand over the Italian's mouth before he can finish his sentence.

"He meant that your sister's height is like our friend Kiku, here." The man says in a German accent, pointing to the black haired man. He must be Kiku.

The Italian pries the blond's hand off his mouth while the doctor walks away from us.

"Ve~ _you_ look-a like Arthur!" The Italian points to me.

"Huh?" I say, "What are you-"

Suddenly, a tub full of pasta is being handed to me.

"It's-a for you!" The Italian says.

"Uh, t-thanks." I muster out.

The doctor comes back with a clipboard.

"What are your names, please?" He asks Cailey and I.

Cailey stares at me; I know that she's confused.

_Should I tell them our real names? Or should we lie?_

I don't trust these men. Even if the Italian gave us pasta.

"My name is Cassandra." I lie.

Cailey looks at me in shock. Her big eyes widen even more. Before she can say something ,though, I shake my head.

She sighs; defeated.

"Her name is Kathleen." I say, gesturing at my sister.

"Ok." The doctor says. He inspects us one more time. He touches my side, and I fight the urge to slap his hand away.

"Where did you get these bruises?" The doctor asks me. He points some of them on my arm. "And that black eye?"

I touch my left eye, it's still tender to the touch.

I know that the 3 strange men are watching. I can't tell them the truth, though. I swore that I would never tell.

**FLASHBACK! **

_Aunt Carol twisted my arm further._

_I winced in pain. "P-please…stop!" _

"_SAY IT!" She screeched at me. _

_Tears streaming down at my face, I said it._

"_I p-promise." I say to her. _

"_You promise to WHAT?" My aunt screamed, twisting my arm again. _

_I gasp in pain, and I crumble to the floor. Aunt Carol's still holding on to me._

"_I promise t-to never tell anyone about our s-secret." I say. _

_She finally releases me from her grip. _

"_Good, good!" She caresses my short hair. Her hand is nice and gentle at the moment. _

_Aunt Carol then leaves me on the floor, massaging my throbbing arm. _

**BACK TO THE PRESENT!**

"I got hit by a car," I told the doctor, pointing to my side.

He nods and moves on to my sister.

"How did you get that cut on your calf?" He asks her.

Cailey glances at me. She's starting to tremble all over again.

_Stay calm, Cailey. _I think. I don't think that telepathy is working right now.

"Knife accident…" Cailey says nervously.

The doctor nods at Cailey. He doesn't look convinced.

"Ok…Cassandra and Kathleen," The doctor says to us, "if you would tell me your parents' names, you should be on your way home."

The Italian comes over to me, and hugs me.

I stand there in shock. It's been a while since I've been hugged.

"Uh…" I say uncomfortably.

_What do I say to the doctor? Sure, we can lie about our names and our lives before this…but I can't lie about this…" _

"Sir, our parents are dead." I state simply.

"_Please…_don't take us home!" My sister pleads; she tries to hold back tears. "I don't want to go back!"

Kiku and the blond man fall silent when they hear Cailey speak for the first time.

I look at Cailey. She seems so scared.

"Ve~ well, we can take of you!" The Italian man says.

"F-Feliciano," the blond man says to the Italian, "ve need to talk about that first." He looked annoyed.

"Sure, Ludwig!" Feliciano says. He follows Ludwig and Kiku to a couple a chairs on the other side of the room. They start whispering.

I hear some snippets of their conversation: "plane…trip…do we have enough money…"

I turn to the doctor. "Can they do that?" I ask him.

He nods. "Only if you agree to, though."

I look at Cailey now; she's smiling a bit. I know she wants to escape.

Maybe it just might work…

...

The 3 men are back now, Feliciano hopping up and down in excitement.

"Okay, we'll take them," Ludwig says in a German accent.

The doctor looks at us one last time.

"Do you want to?" He asks me.

I close my eyes to think.

There's so much pressure on me.

I know that my sister is relying on my answer.

...This can be a great opportunity.

I open my eyes again. They're all staring at me.

Man, I sure do hate that.

"Where are you going?" I ask them.

"Germany." Kiku responds politely.

I don't think about my answer at all.

"Okay, we'll go."

The last memory I have at that hospital is being nearly squeezed to death by Feliciano and Cailey.

"Ve~ we're going to take good care of you!" Feliciano says happily.

"Thanks so much, sis." Cailey whispers.

When they finally let go of me, I smile.

It's been so long since I've smiled.

I just smiled because I was happy.

Not because I was forced to mask my secrets.

Because I was happy.

A new beam of hope is shining on Cailey and I. What will happen next…I don't know.

I'm sure that it'll change my life, though.


	6. Chapter 6: First Class

** Chapter 6: First Class**

**Hey, everyone! :D Thanks to:**

**British West Florida-IggyXUS**

**A Random Fan**

**Ayumi Kudou**

**Castor Black**

**JustMakeLeftTurns**

**Lilith Graves**

**for reviewing, reading, and following my story! :D**

Cassia's POV:

"Ve~ this is going to be so much-a fun!" Feliciano yelled excitedly.

Wow, he's really hyper.

All of us- Cailey, Feliciano, Ludwig, Kiku, and I were in Ludwig's car. We were heading to the airport. Cailey sat to my right, putting me between her and Feliciano.

"Cassandra," Cailey said, using my fake name.

"Yeah?" I replied.

"T-There is going to be adults in the airport, right?" She fiddles with her belt. I managed to snatch that from Aunt Carol's closet.

I sighed in frustration. Cailey's paranoia made her oblivious to some things.

"Yes, there are going to be adults," I said to her. "Don't freak out now. We just escaped."

Cailey nodded obediently. She turned to Feliciano. "Why are we going to Germany?" she asked him.

"We're-a going to Ludwig's house!" Feliciano said happily.

Then, he started to sing about pasta.

"Ve~ pasta is so good-a! Pasta is so tasty!"

I looked straight ahead. Ludwig was looking very annoyed, while Kiku just snapped pictures of the trees near the highway.

…

"QUIET FELICIANO!" Germany shouts at Feliciano, who was still singing about pasta.

I'm kind of glad that Ludwig told him to stop. That song was starting to give me a headache.

I hear Cailey start to cry next to me.

"Ve~ what's-a wrong, Kathleen?" Feliciano asks her.

"H-He yelled!" Cailey says.

I sighed again. Every time anyone yelled, even if it was at someone else, Cailey would cry. I don't blame her though.

Feliciano reaches over to her, and I see him give her something. His body colliding with my bad side makes me want to shout in pain, but I don't. I notice that he rarely opens his eyes.

Wait- how does a steaming bowl of pasta come out of thin air?

"Where did you get the pasta, Feliciano?" I ask him.

"Ve~ I always have pasta with me!" He says.

My sister's eyes widen. The pasta smells really good.

My mouth starts to water just at the sight of it. I haven't had pasta in _forever_! Or any decent food, really.

"Ve~ do you want some pasta, too, Cassandra?" Feliciano asks me.

"Er- ok." I tell him.

He hands me a plate of pasta.

"Eat up!" Feliciano says, giving me a fork. "Pasta makes everything-a better!"

I turn to look at my sister, but she's already dug into her bowl of pasta.

I eye Feliciano for a moment. Should I eat it?

It doesn't look tampered with.

It looks so good.

I give in to my hunger, and eat the pasta.

Man, I haven't eaten anything so good.

…

Once we get to the airport, Feliciano practically bursts out of the car.

Like I said before, he was _really_ hyper.

Ludwig and Kiku end up gathering up the luggage. Kiku hands me a blue bag with a panda on it.

"My bag," I say in surprise. "How did you find it?"

"I picked it up when we first rescued you." Kiku says to me.

I take the bag, and peer inside.

There's nothing. Just a note.

_Good luck.!_

Wait- what? Who wrote that? Definitely not Aunt Carol.

My thoughts are interrupted by Ludwig's voice.

Ludwig looks at Cailey. "Why would we have a young girl like you lift heavy baggage?"

"U-um…" Cailey stutters. Her hands tremble.

For the third time, I sigh. Cailey probably asked them if she could carry the baggage. She's been manipulated.

Ludwig turns around again.

"Alright, let's go!" Ludwig says.

I grab Cailey's wrist and we follow the 3 men in front of us into the airport's doors.

…

"Passport please." A woman said. She looked as if she would be anywhere but here.

"Ve~ here you go!" Feliciano said, giving the woman a passport. The woman rolls her eyes in response to his cheeriness.

That's when it hits me.

_Crap! Aunt Carol never kept our passports! I bet that it's still at the old house. _

I tell Cailey, and she starts to hyperventilate.

"What do we do?"

"I don't know, maybe we can fit into the luggage-"

_But we already passed the luggage check-in, you git! _I think.

_Why did I just call myself a git?_

Who cares about that…

Ludwig and Kiku have already checked their passports. All three of them have moved on to the security check.

_Do something! _

"Passports, please." The woman drones on.

"Um-we don't have any…" Cailey tells the woman sheepishly.

The woman glares at us.

Suddenly, I hear a _pop_ coming from inside of the bag.

I reach into it, and I recover two passports.

What? How did that happen? There was nothing in the bag a few minutes ago!

I open up both of them, and this is what I find:

**Name: Cassandra Beltran**

**Name: Kathleen Beltran**

B-but…

My name is Cassia! Not Cassandra! This is all so confusing…

The lady scowls at Cailey and me before snatching the passports out of my hand.

She checks us in, then hands the passports back.

"How did that work?" I said to Cailey as we pull off our shoes.

"What?"

"Never mind, I'll tell you later." I whisper.

I put my panda bag in a bin, and it gets x-rayed. Cailey isn't holding anything, so she simply puts her shoes in a bin next to mine.

Now, the only thing left is the large body scanner.

I go first, and nothing happens. The uniformed man nods to me before gesturing for Cailey to come through.

Cailey nervously walks through the machine.

**BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!**

"AHHHHHHHHHHH!" Cailey jumps back.

The other passengers look at us.

"PLEASE DON'T TAKE ME AWAY! I DON'T WANNA GO BACK!" Cailey gets on her knees and pleads. Tears start to run down her cheeks.

I just stand there.

The uniformed man looks Cailey over, then points at her waist.

I face palm. "Your belt! Take off your belt!" I tell her.

Cailey looks around, and then slips off her belt. She hangs onto her loose shorts. Cailey goes through the machine once more, and nothing happens.

…

"Where were you girls?" Ludwig asks us when we meet them a few minutes later.

"We got held up." I tell him. Cailey is still sniffling. She must have been traumatized.

"Well, let's get going. We cannot afford to be late." Ludwig says to our group.

We all follow Ludwig to a section of the airport, A12.

I sit down to rest. My side still hurts like heck, but I can move better.

"So, Cassandra," Kiku says to me.

He's so silent; I nearly forgot what his voice sounded like.

"Who did you live with before?" Kiku continues.

"My aunt." I blurt out before I thought about it.

_Please don't ask anything else. Please don't ask about the way she treats us. _

As if Kiku heard me, he turns around, and talks to Cailey. He seems to be trying to calm her down. She still trembles, though.

"Ve~ where did you live before your parents died?" Feliciano asked me.

_Of all the questions he could ask, why that one? _

I know that he won't leave without an answer, so I tell him the truth.

"Philadelphia, Pennsylvania." I tell him.

Feliciano's eyes suddenly light up.

"I saw a license plate with that funny name on it!"

An announcement comes on. "All passengers flying on First Class, on Flight #834 may line up now."

Ludwig and Kiku grab the luggage, and head onto the line.

"We're on first class?" Cailey asks Feliciano.

"Yep! Ve~ you haven't been on first class before?"

We both shake our heads.

"We've only been on an airplane once, in Coach." I told him.

"Ve~ first class is really nice!" Feliciano reassured us. "They have movies! I really like the American ones!" He smiled.

We get on line behind Kiku and Ludwig. Another employee checks our passports again, and we get on the plane.

Instead of walking past the first section of the plane, Ludwig, Kiku, and Feliciano sit on the 3rd row.

"Where do we sit?" I ask politely. There's no way they could have gotten us two first class tickets a day before a flight.

But, Kiku proves me wrong. He points to the row right behind theirs.

"Ve~ Can I sit next to the principessas, Ludwig?" Feliciano asks.

"Okay, if that makes you happy, Feliciano." Ludwig says.

Feliciano sits next to me. Again, I'm between him and Cailey.

"Ve~ Airplanes are really fun!" He grins at me. His curl sticks out. I wonder what would happen if I pulled it...

"All passengers please take your seats while we demonstrate the safety guidelines." Another announcement comes on.

"Ve~ you'll be safe enough with us!" Feliciano says to Cailey and I. He buckles our seatbelts, and gives us each a hug.

I don't think that I've ever felt more protected, sitting there on a plane with Feliciano.


	7. Chapter 7: Pasta for Dinner!

**Chapter 7: Pasta for Dinner!**

**Yes, Italy was the one who came up with the title. -.-**

**Italy: Ve~ Ana, where's the pasta?**

**Me: Italy, not now!**

**Italy: Ve~ ok! **

**Anyway, thanks so much for the reviews and views! :D **

**To vote for which Hetalia character gets to appear next, go to my page! **

Cailey's POV:

_I was in a black room. I couldn't see anything. _

Where's Cassia? I really need her right now!

_A dim light comes on. A single lightbulb shows that the floor has a checkerboard pattern. It's divided into puzzle-like pieces. _

_I started to walk around the room. I stayed close to the walls. Everything in front of me was blurry. _

_I really need some glasses! _

_Suddenly, I see bright red words coming out of a mist. _

"_Two can keep a secret if one of them is dead." _

"_NO!" I screamed. "GO AWAY!" _

_I looked around. Where was Cassia?_

_I ran away from the letters. Where can I go? _

_The letters are chasing me now, and my legs are feeling tired. _

_I see a door. I can escape!_

_But no matter how fast I run, the door never gets any closer. _

"_CASSIA! _CASSIA_!" I shouted. _

_I felt the ground shake. Pieces of the ground started to fall. Everything around me was crumbling. _

_What do I do? Where's my sister? _

_The piece of ground below me falls, taking me with it._

"_CASSIA!" I screamed._

Next thing you know, I'm being shaken awake by Feliciano.

"Ve~ what's wrong, principessa?" He asks me.

"U-um…" I stutter. I turn my head to the left. We're still on the airplane. The window outside shows that it's nighttime now.

I then look to my right. Everyone in the first class cabin is staring at me. Not to mention Cassia, Feliciano, Ludwig, and Kiku!

_Two can keep a secret if 1 one of them is dead. _I keep thinking of those haunting words.

"N-nothing. It was nothing." I tell Feliciano. "I only had a nightmare."

"Ve~ why were you screaming the name, Cassia?" Feliciano asks me.

"I don't know…" I answer nervously. I look down to avoid everyone's stare. My hands are trembling again. Why do they always do this?

_What if he figures out that we used fake names? Then we'll have to go back to Aunt Carol! I don't want to go back! I can't!_

"You'll be alright!" Feliciano says happily. He pats my head. "I get nightmares sometimes, too!"

I nod, and wipe up my tears. Cassia looks at me. I nod, signaling that I'm fine. She sighs in relief.

"It was just a nightmare." I reassure myself. "Just a nightmare."

…

Italy- I mean Feliciano's POV: xD

8 hours after we left America, we finally arrived at Germany's place!

"Ok, everyone, we're here." Germany said. He stopped the car right in front of his house.

The sun was just coming out. It looked so pretty, I could stare at it all day! Germany always told me not to, though. Japan said that it could cause blindness.

The sun was still pretty, you know!

"Wow, your house is so pretty, Mr. Beilschmidt!" Kathleen says.

"You may call me Ludwig," Germany says to her. Kathleen smiles at him.

"Ve~ what do you think, Cassandra?" I ask her.

She comes out of the car, clutching her side. "It's nice." She says.

"Is your side still hurting?" Japan asks Cassandra. She nods, but doesn't say anything else.

Germany then takes his house keys out of his pocket, and opens the door.

I like visiting Germany's house! It has really nice furniture, and old things that I'm not allowed to touch.

Germany and Japan leave the luggage by the door. I see that Cassandra is holding her panda bag.

"Ve~ our friend Wang Yao would really like that!" I point to the bag. Cassandra simply nods. She must not like to talk a lot. She's just like Japan, though she looks almost like England! She even has the same bushy eyebrows!

"What will we have for dinner, Ludwig?" Japan asks Germany.

"I was thinking we should have some bratwurst." Germany says.

"Ve~ what about pasta?"

"Feliciano, we've had pasta all week. We can't eat that all of the time!" He tells me.

"Ve~ ok, I guess." I say sadly.

Germany sighs. "Fine, I'll make pasta, only for you, ok?"

I smile at him. "Thanks Ger-Ludwig!"

"Cassandra," Japan talks to her.

"Yes?"

"Is your side ok, maybe you need some rest..." He trails off.

"No, it'll be alright." Cassandra reassures Japan.

Once Japan and Germany go into the kitchen, I turn to the two girls.

"Ve~, let's play some games!" I say to Kathleen and Cassandra.

They both look at each other, then Cassandra nods.

"Yay!" I shout. I take out a board game from my suitcase, then plop it onto the table in Germany's living room. "My friend Alfred gave me this game to play with!"

I put the game on the table.

Kathleen smiles, while Cassandra just sits there.

"It's Operation!" Kathleen laughs.

"Let's play!" I grin at them.

…

"Wow! You're really good!" I tell Kathleen after she gets the Adam's apple.

"Thanks," she says quietly, "I've played this game in school before."

"Ve~ what school did you go to?"

Kathleen glances at her sister. "Um…Grovefield Middle School."

She picks a card for Cassandra, who doesn't look too comfortable, and she can't help but laugh.

"Writer's cramp?" She laughs. Cassandra picks up the tweezers, and slowly reaches towards the pencil.

"Dinner's ready, now!" Germany voices rings around the room, making Cassandra drop the tweezers.

**BUZZZZZZZZZ!**

She blows the bangs off her face. "It's ok. I was going to lose anyway."

We all get up, and go into the dining room.

Germany has the table nice and shiny. He always like to clean. I remember that one time I made pasta in his kitchen, and he kept following me around with a towel!

"Did you make pasta for me?" I ask him.

He sighs. "Yes, I did."

Japan is sitting next to Cassandra. I sit next to Kathleen. Germany takes his seat at the head of the table.

"Shall we eat now, Ludwig?" Japan asks Germany.

"Yes, yes, sure." He responds.

I pick up my fork and am about to dig into my pasta, when the door bursts open.

**Sorry for the short chapter! I decided to cut this one in half, and you (yes, you!) get to vote on which character (s) get to appear in the next chapter! :D Poll ends on 7/22! I think the poll is on my page... I'm new...so, yeah, I don't know. :P**


	8. Chapter 8: Dinner with Gilbert

**ANW Chapter 8: Dinner with Gilbert**

**Man, I took waaaaaaaaay too long with this chapter! xD Thanks to all who voted on my totally awesome poll! More thanks at the end...**

**Cassia's POV:**

"YO VEST!"

A loud voice rings from the front door. I gasp. The man at the door was very tall, and spoke with a German accent. He was wearing a dark blue military uniform. He also had albino-white hair, but the weirdest feature was his red eyes.

They were probably contacts…

Cailey squirms in the chair next to me. Ludwig looks very mad.

"It's East." He huffs under his breath.

"YO VEEEEEEEEEEEESSSSSSSSSST!" The man says again. He walks over to the dining table, sitting down at a seat opposite of Ludwig. He props up his legs, his shiny, black boots resting on the table. I notice that a small yellow bird is on his shoulder.

"Vhat do you vant, Gilbert?" Ludwig asks him.

"Vhat? Your own awesome brother can't eat vith you anymore? You probably can't contain my awesomeness!" Gilbert dismisses the question. He looks at the table, eyes widening when he spots Cailey and I.

"Vhy are you two girls here?" Gilbert asks us.

"Ve~ we-a rescued them!" Feliciano answers for us. "Their-a names are Kathleen and Cassandra."

I sigh with relief. I probably would have made a fool of myself by trying to answer the question.

"Oh, really…" Gilbert says, looking at Ludwig meaningfully.

"Yes, ve did, _Gilbert_." Ludwig says.

"Vell, I'm am the awesome Gilbert, und this," Gilbert points to the little bird,"is my awesome bird, Gilbird!"

There's an awkward silence for a few moments, before Feliciano starts chatting again.

"Ve~ can I have my pasta, now?" He asks. The steam from his plate of pasta is starting to fade.

"Sure, Feliciano." Ludwig says, getting up from his chair at the head of the table. He goes into the kitchen, and comes back with another plate of wurst for Gilbert.

We all dig in. I was so distracted by Gilbert's entrance, I forgot about dinner!

The wurst is pretty good. It looks and tastes like a sausage. Let's just hope that it _is _a sausage.

After a few moments of chewing, Gilbert pipes up.

"What happened to your face?" He points to my still-black eye.

The others, except for Cailey look up from their plates. They're probably wondering what happened, too.

"I…I" I start to say, but a tingling sensation starts to come from my arm. Darn, the mark is acting up again. It's a warning.

"I…got into a fight." I say. The mark starts to burn a bit, like someone is putting a flame to it.

_I'm not going to say anymore! _I plead to the mark. _Stop burning! I get it!_

"Looks like you lost, huh?" Gilbert laughs to himself. "If only you vere me! My awesomeness vould make me vin every time!"

Ludwig rolls his eyes. Kiku stays silent, while Feliciano keeps eating his pasta.

"You two girls must know, my awesomeness is so awesome, ve'll need to make a need vord for awesome!"

Cailey looks at me in confusion.

"Just go with it." I whisper to her.

She nods, and we focus back on Gilbert.

"I've fought in so battles, and I've always von! That's how awesome I am!" He shouts triumphantly.

"Gilbert, can you please shut it! Ve're trying to eat!" Ludwig says angrily.

"Ve~ I'm-a done!" Feliciano says, holding up his empty plate. He smiles at me. "Ve~ let's-a keep playing the game!"

Feliciano suddenly grabs my hand, as well as Cailey's, and he drags us to the living room.

_I didn't even get to finish my wurst! _

The board was still there. It was my turn before dinner, but Ludwig's shouts made me drop the tweezers.

"Ve~you should-a try again, Cassandra!" Feliciano encourages me, handing me the tweezers.

"I lost, though." I say sheepishly.

"Ve~ just-a try again! They're-a always second chances!" He smiles at me again.

_Yeah, right! If second chances _did _exist, I'm pretty sure we wouldn't have been trapped living with a sadistic witch for 3 years. _

Calm down, Cassia. You're safe now.

That was something my mom would always say.

"Sis, come on!" Cailey says, breaking my thought bubble.

I hate it when people do that.

"Fine, I'll go." I say, grabbing the plastic tweezers tightly in my left hand. My hand reaches over to the writer's cramp. The tips of the tweezers inch closer and closer... until I grab the small pencil.

I did it! Now to just get it out…

"Ve~ you're-a doing so well!" Feliciano cheers me on. I have to say, it is kind of nice to have someone yell at me for something like encouragement, other than for scolding.

My hands start to get sweaty. I hold the tweezers even tighter. I slowly reach out, hoping the buzzer doesn't sound-

"Can't you hurry up?" A voice says behind me. I jump; making the tweezers hit the edge of the hole.

**BUZZ! BUZZ! **

_Great, I lost again. So much for second chances. _

"KESESESESESESE!"

I look behind me to see that Gilbert is laughing at me.

I spent so much time getting that one piece! Why did Gilbert have to come in and ruin my chances at winning? And plus, will he stop laughing! I've only heard it _once _and it was already annoying!

"_You bloody wanker! I was so close to getting that_!" I shout at Gilbert. He stops laughing, and stares at me oddly.

"Dude, you sound just like zat Arthur guy." He says, starting to laugh again.

"Ve~ it's ok, Cassandra," Feliciano pats me on the back. "There's always next time."

I stand up.

_Darn, it. My side's still hurting. _

"I'm going back into the dining room," I say, fighting the urge to clutch my side. Cailey looks up at me.

"Y-you're not going to play anymore?" She says tearfully. She must be scared of Gilbert.

"Ve~ we'll be-a fine!" Feliciano says happily. He puts the pieces back into their designated holes.

…

I walk into the dining room. Kiku is at the table, staring off into space. Ludwig must be in the kitchen, cleaning up.

"Herro, Cassandra." Kiku greets me quietly. I sit in a chair across from him.

"Hi." I say to him. His eyes are a nice, chocolate brown. The weird thing is, they don't have a gleam to them. They're just a flat brown.

"How was your game with Fericiano?" Kiku asks me.

"It was good…until Gilbert came along." I respond, thinking about my sad defeat.

"What happened?" Kiku inquires.

"He…well-he made me drop the tweezers, so I lost my turn." I say. Why was that still making me angry?

"I aporogize if this is rude, but you sounded different when you were yerring at Girbert." Kiku tells me.

_Wait-_what? _My voice didn't change at all! At least…I'm sure it hadn't…_

"What do you mean, Kiku?" I ask him.

"You were tarking in a different accent." He answers.

"I don't think I was."

Kiku just stared at me. I don't think he wanted to argue with me.

"Ve~ Cassandra!" Feliciano runs into the room, his curl bouncing.

"Yeah?"

"Kathleen won-a the game! She's-a so good at it!" Feliciano bounces on his toes.

Cailey shyly walks in.

"Is this true?" I say, raising an eyebrow. She nods.

I feel the corners of my mouth lift slightly, and my sister's eyes widen.

"Zat vasn't even fair!" Gilbert says loudly, walking into the room. "Feliciano's leg moved the table!"

Feliciano's eyes start to tear up.

"You so obviously cheated! Someone with my awesomeness vould never lose!" Gilbert points accusingly at Feliciano.

"Ve~ I'm sorry!" He sobs. Tears start to run down his cheeks.

"Vat's going on here?" Ludwig comes in, wiping his hands on a small towel.

"You're veak ally here vas crying for no reason!" Gilbert says defiantly.

"That's not true." I say. They all look at me.

"Gilbert accused Feliciano of cheating, therefore making Feliciano cry." I state simply.

(Gilbert's face: O.O") Gilbert stared at me, his mouth wide open. Feliciano had stopped crying.

"Vell, Gilbert," Ludwig began.

Gilbert must have known what was coming, because he started to laugh at Ludwig.

"So vat? Are you gonna kick me out of za house?" Gilbert chuckled. His bird was laughing alongside with him.

Ludwig's eyes narrowed. "Actually, yes, I vas."

Gilbert stopped laughing. "Are you serious?"

Ludwig nodded, and pointed towards the door. "You can leave now."

Gilbert glared at Ludwig. "Fine. I vasn't going to stay here for long, anyvay."

He stomped away from us, and opened the front door. He looked back at Ludwig before saying, "I'll just go hang out vith Antonio and Francis; at least _they_ know how to have a good time!"

He then stuck out his tongue, and left, but not before Gilbird pecked Ludwig hard on the forehead.

"OW!" Ludwig shouted, covering the spot where Gilbert's bird had pecked him.

"I wirr take care of this." Kiku stood up from his seat. He walked into the kitchen, bringing back an ice pack.

"You girrs and Fericiano shourd go back into the riving room." Kiku said to us.

We all walked out of the room. Feliciano grinned as we sat down.

"Ve~ thanks so much for-a standing up for me!" He said to me.

"Cassandra is so brave." Cailey says. "She's always sticking up for me, too!"

I turn to glare at her.

"Ve~ are you bullied, too?" Feliciano asks.

The burning feeling starts to come back.

_Darn, is this another warning?_

"Well, I guess I was-" Cailey trails off nervously.

She gets cut off when a gasp escapes my mouth. I push up my sleeve to reveal an orange swirl on my right arm, near the elbow.

Feliciano notices Cailey has stopped. "Ve~ what happened?" He stares at both Cailey and I.

"Everything's perfectly fine, Feliciano." I say, gripping my arm even tighter. The burning is getting more intense. I feel like a flame is starting to emerge from my arm.

Feliciano doesn't buy it, though. He spots the mark on my arm.

"Ve~ where did you get that from?" He asks, inching closer to me.

"It's just a tattoo." I say. I try to cover up the swirl, but Feliciano takes my hand in his. He now has a serious expression on his face.

I don't know why, but I blush.

"Ve~ principessa, that doesn't look-a like a tattoo." He says, stroking the mark.

"Can you please not touch that?" I plead.

"Ve~ ok," Feliciano says, going back to his happy state. He sits back down on the couch.

Luckily, Kiku and Ludwig come back from the kitchen. Ludwig now has a small bruise on his forehead.

"Ve~, are you ok, Ludwig?" Feliciano asks Ludwig. He leaps off the couch, and engulfs Ludwig in a giant bear hug.

"I'm fine, Feliciano. Now, let go of me!" Ludwig pries Feliciano off.

Feliciano lets go of Ludwig. He stands beside me for some reason.

This makes me think of a memory. A good one, this time.

**FLASHBACK!**

_The Christmas tree is as bright and green as ever; and there are presents scattered around the tree. __I'm wearing my favorite pair of pj's. They're bright pink and feel so soft! _

_"__Thanks so much, Mom!" I say, jumping off the couch. It's Christmas morning, and we were just opening up presents._

_I fly into her warm arms. "You're welcome, sweetie." Mom says, holding me close to her. She smells like those chocolate chip cookies we made. _

_Mom then notices the tear on my sleeve. She sighs. _

_"I'll sew this back together later, okay?" _

_I nod happily, and turn back around._

___Cailey's too busy admiring her new Bratz doll to notice what I've gotten from Mom and Dad._

_I go back to the couch where I left my present, a new journal. Not just any journal, though. It's a special lock-and-key one. Now Cailey can't get into it! _

_I hold up the journal; it's new, with a picture of our family on it. We're all smiling at the camera. _

_I smile too. My mouth actually hurts from smiling too much! _

_But, as I stare at the picture, the warm feeling inside me goes away. _

_We're all there. Mom, Dad, Cailey and I. Well, formally, their names are Carla and Dave Beltran. And, here are my sister and I. _

_Cailey and Cassia Beltran. _

_There's something weird about us though. We don't really look like our parents. _

_I know, it's a dumb thought, but…_

_Mom's hair is a bright red, and she has hazel eyes. Dad has dark brown hair and blue eyes._

_Sure, I have brown hair, but it's lighter than Dad's. And my sister has dirty blond hair. Plus, my eyebrows are more bushier and thicker than anyone in my family. _

_It's a dumb thought. _

_After all, I have that photo of Mom holding me at the hospital. _

_I still wonder, though…_

**FLASHBACK OVER!**

"Are you arright, Cassandra?" Kiku asks me. His voices startles me.

"Um-yeah, I'm fine." I reply.

"Ve~ you looked sad for a moment!" Feliciano says, patting me on the back.

"It's alright. I was just…thinking about something." I say.

"Thinking about vat?" Ludwig inquires.

_Why do they keep asking so many questions?_

"Just a little memory, that's all." I say. "Before my parents died, you know."

"Ve~ how did they die?" Feliciano asks.

Cailey starts to sniffle.

"Car accident." I say.

_Don't think about it too hard, the memory will come back…you don't want that, right? _

"Oh." Feliciano says.

I get up from the couch, but Feliciano hugs me.

"You're-a so brave!" He says.

I see Kathleen in a corner of the room. Her back is facing us, but I see her shoulders shuddering.

"I think Kathleen's the one who needs a hug." I point to her. She's quietly crying.

"Ve~ you'll be ok, Kathy!" Feliciano goes over to the corner and hugs her.

"Thanks, Feliciano." Cailey hugs him back.

"I think that ve should all go to bed, now." Ludwig says.

We all nod.

"Ve~ what about pajamas?" Feliciano asks us.

_I forgot all about that! I'm such a bloody idiot! _

"We didn't pack any." I say.

"I think that our night crothes wourd be too big for you girrs." Kiku says.

I look at my panda bag on the floor. I walk towards it, and crouch down to get it.

Suddenly, I hear a _pop_, and empty bag is filled up with something!

"Ve~ I think you might have something in your bag!" Feliciano says.

I reach into the bag, and I find two pairs of pajamas; one for me, and another for Cailey!

_Is this bag magical, or what? _I wonder.

"I've found some." I say. I hand Cailey her pair, and take look at mine's.

The pajamas are pink and feel like satin.

Just like the ones I wore on Christmas Day 3 and 1/2 years ago…

* * *

**EXTRA SCENE:**

"Ouch!" I said. A huge shot of pain just flew up my arm.

I looked around the room. All of the furniture was in place. Nothing has moved...it seemed.

Bloody hell, what just happened? It was the second time in only 15 minutes!

I sighed, and turned back to the tele. My hand reached for another scone at my side. I held a cup up to my lips.

_Darn it! There's no more tea in this thing! _

I sighed once more before getting up to brew more tea.


	9. Chapter 9: Early in the Morning

**ANW Chapter 9: Early in the Morning**

**It's been so long, (well, not really) since I've written Chapter 8. :P It seemed like it, though. **

**Oh, and sorry for all of the boring dialogue and stuff. I promise that more exciting things will happen next! **

Cailey's POV:

_I was in the dark room again. I still couldn't see anything. My eyes were really blurry. _

_Instead of walking around again, I just stood still. I had to wait for the light to come on. _

_The room gets lighter. I notice that a single light bulb is stuck to the ceiling of the room. _

_I look down at the floor. It's a checkerboard pattern again, and it's divided into puzzle pieces. _

Wait- the floor's gonna fall down soon!

_A mist comes out. _

Oh no! The letters!

_The red letters emerge again. It repeats the same thing as last time. _

"_Two can keep a secret if one of them is dead." _

"_GO AWAY!" I shout. _

Where's the door? Where is it?!

_I look behind me. The door is on the other side of the room. _

Maybe if I run fast enough, I'll make it this time!

_I start to race towards the door. The red words are following me again. They float right behind me in the air. _

The door is still far away, but I have to make it!

_The ground starts to shake. _

No! I have to make it! I have to!

_I feel the pieces fall down beneath me as I run. _

I'm so scared. I'm not going to make it! I can't! It's impossible.

_I didn't realize that I had stopped running until the piece underneath my feet falls down._

I sit up in my bed.

_It's just a dream...just a dream. _

My hands are trembling like crazy, and I feel very cold inside.

"Cassia? I mean- Cassandra?" I turn to my right.

Oh wait. Cassia's not there. She has her own room now.

It's not like she's going to listen to me, anyway. I've always come to Cassia if I were scared, especially if it was a nightmare.

But, Cassia never understands. She just calls me a crybaby, and tells me that everything is alright.

She's probably right, though.

But as I lay down on the bed again, I can't get comfortable. I shift under my blankets. I fluff the pillow, and tuck myself with the covers.

I can't sleep!

Maybe someone else will listen to me…Maybe one of the three men...

I don't want to disturb Ludwig; he'll be mad if I wake him up.

Kiku is so kind…He should get his rest.

That just leaves Feliciano… I don't think that he'll be upset if I woke him up.

I remove the blanket that's been sitting on top of me, and get up from the bed. Thankfully, the moon's light that's coming from the window gives me enough light to see. I head to the door.

I slowly, and as quietly as I can, open the door. I sneak out into the dark area outside.

This hallway is so dark!

I really wish that I had glasses! Everything is blurry. Usually Cassia would have to hold my hand and guide me everywhere.

I put my hands on the wall, and try to feel my way around.

Suddenly, I bump into something!

A shriek comes from the thing, and I jump back.

"W-who is that?" I ask.

"Ve~ It's-a me, Feliciano."

"Oh." I say. I feel the air, searching for Feliciano.

My hand grabs something.

"P-please stop that!" Feliciano says. He making some odd noises, sort of like panting...

_Great! Look at what you've done! You hurt him!_

I quickly let go of what I was holding

"I'm so sorry, Mr. Feliciano!" I apologize.

"Ve~ it's a okay. I know that you didn't mean it!" Feliciano says. I can't see him though.

I feel a hand touch my shoulder.

"What are you doing here so early in the morning?" Feliciano said.

"I wanted to talk to you." I tell him.

"Why? Is there something wrong?"

It takes a few moments to get enough courage to tell him.

"Well, I had a really scary nightmare just now."

"Hm, let's go to your room! Then we can talk about it!"

Feliciano takes my hand, and he leads me to my room.

I sit down on my bed. The sun is starting to peak out now. It looks so pretty. The sky is a night orange-pink. It reminds me of Mom's favorite ice cream; rainbow sherbet.

Feliciano sits at a chair across from me. His weird curl is bent slightly.

Oops, that's probably the thing that I pulled by accident.

"You know, I've had some really scary dreams too!" Feliciano smiles.

"Really?" I ask.

"Yeah," He continues. "One time, it was about me not having any pasta or pizza to eat!"

Well, that doesn't seem really scary to me…but everyone has their own fears, I guess.

"Oh yeah, and in another one, I had to eat my friend Arthur's cooking!" Feliciano's eyes start to tear up. "It tasted so bad!"

I look down at my hands. They've finally stopped trembling!

Feliciano comes over to me, and pats my head. "You'll be ok, _principessa_!"

"T-thanks," I say.

Feliciano gets up from his seat. I crawl back into bed, and he tucks in the covers.

Feliciano then head to the door. He turns to me before he opens it.

"Get some more sleep! Ludwig's making breakfast later!" Feliciano waves to me. He goes out the door, and quietly closes it.

I lie down on the pillows on my bed. I close my eyes.

Feliciano is so nice. I wish Aunt Carol was like that. I've always wished that those years with her were just a dream, and that when I woke up, Mom and Dad would still be here.

Life is so hard, sometimes.

I wonder...why was Feliciano awake too?

…

Cassia's POV:

I open up my eyes. I'm staring at a different ceiling, now.

It takes me a few minutes to realize where I am.

Last night was so weird. First, we escaped from Aunt Carol to Germany, met 3 weird men, and then an albino came over for dinner.

Despite the weirdness, though...I'm kind of glad that we're here. Any place is better than being with Aunt Carol.

Cailey, or should I say Kathleen, and I are safe

I get up from my bed, throwing off the soft covers. I look around the room for a moment. It doesn't look like any of the rooms I've have lived in.

I look at myself in the mirror.

I'm wearing those pajamas that I had so long ago. It's weird, because the tear that I had before is still there. And somehow, the garments still fit me….

Never mind about that! I've got to check on Cailey.

I walk to the bedroom door. I twist the doorknob, and it opens.

Walking outside of my room, I look around. It's quiet.

I tiptoe to Cailey's room which is right next to mine's.

I open her door, but…

She's not there.

Ok, don't freak. She's probably downstairs.

Yeah. She has to be.

I walk down the main staircase, and my suspicions were right. Cailey, Feliciano, Ludwig, and Kiku are at the dining table, eating breakfast. They all turn their heads towards me as I step onto the living room floor.

"Ve~ ciao, and good morning!" Feliciano gets up from his seat and embraces me in a hug.

I don't know why, but I feel odd when Feliciano hugs me. Like I'm wanted or something. In a good way, I mean.

"Join us; we're having bread rolls with cheese and jam!" Feliciano leads me to the table. I take a seat next to him.

"Konnichiwa, Cassandra." Kiku greets politely. Ludwig just nods at me.

Cailey passes a bread roll to me.

"Try it. It tastes really good." She smiles.

I take the bread roll from Cailey's hand, and bite it.

I'm adding bread rolls to the list of things that make me happy.

…

"Ve~ so Cassandra," Feliciano says. "What were your parents like?"

My bread roll freezes in midair.

…What do I say?

"Um…they were nice." I say. "They always took care of us, and we were all very happy together."

Everyone stays silent for a moment.

"Yeah!" Cailey says, her eyes glowing. "And sometimes, we would go to the park and fly kites there!"

Feliciano's eyes widen. "Really? That-a sounds so cool!"

Cailey nods. "Yeah, it was loads of fun! Oh- and we would go to downtown Philadelphia to see the Liberty Bell every summer!"

Oh yeah, I remember those trips.

"Cassandra always acted weird on those trips, though." Cailey says.

I turn to glare at her from across the table.

"What do you mean?" Kiku asks.

Cailey bows her head. "Cassandra always looked sad during those times we went to see the Liberty Bell."

"Shut up!" I whisper to her.

Before anyone else can say anything, though, a phone rings.

Ludwig gets up from the table, and leaves the room.

…

Germany's POV:

"Dude, Germany!" a very loud voices shouts through the speaker of my cell.

I sigh. "What do you want, America?"

"You're late!"

"What do you mean, late? Late for what?"

"There's a World 8 meeting today at your place! Don't you remember?"

_How could I have forgotten? It was supposed to be in Berlin! _

"We're all waiting for you guys!" America tells me.

"We'll be there in an hour." I say simply before hanging up.

I put my cellphone back into my pocket. How could I have forgotten? England said that there would be a meeting here at the last World Conference.

I go back into the dining room, where everyone has finished eating.

"Kiku and Feliciano," I say. "I need to talk to you for a moment.

Italy and Japan rise from their chairs, and follow me back into the kitchen.

"What happened, Germany?" Italy asks.

"We're late for a World 8 meeting."

Italy starts to flail his arms all over the place.

"Italy, calm down!" I whisper to him. I hope that the two girls can't hear what we're saying.

"OH NO! WE'RE LATE, WE'RE LATE!" Italy screams before running out of the kitchen.

"How will we explain this to the girls?" Japan whispers.

I was just thinking about that.

"We should tell them that we're diplomats." I tell him. "It would make the current situation easier to explain."

Japan nods. We both go back into the kitchen. Cassandra and Kathleen are whispering to each other. They don't seem to know what was going on.

I clear my throat, and the girls look up.

"We forgot to tell you two that we have to go to a meeting." I tell them. "And, since we can't leave you in the house by yourselves, you must come with us."

At first, they don't say anything. Then, the older girl, Cassandra, gets up from the table.

"We'll go get ready." She states simply. She and Kathleen then start to pick up their dishes.

"You don't have to do that." I tell them.

Cassandra just shakes her head. Kathleen starts to cry.

"I-I'm sorry for disappointing you!" She says.

I don't know what to say. I didn't mean to offend her. Japan goes over to her, and bends down.

He whispers something to her, and she smiles.

Cassandra then takes Kathleen by her wrist, and they leave the dining room.

I turn to Japan once I hear their footsteps on the stairs.

"What do you say to her?"

Japan smiles slightly.

"I told her to not cry, because there are more important things to cry about in the world."

**YAY! The World 8 meeting is next! :DDDD**


	10. Chapter 10: The World 8 Meeting

**Chapter 10: The World 8 Meeting**

**Hello! :D I just want to say...**

**Pasta.**

**Anyway, I have to warn you; this is a _long _chapter! I didn't even fit everything that I wanted to put in here! xP I hope you're up to the challenge! As always, enjoy! :D**

Cailey's POV:

Cassia drags me up the stairs to the second floor. She leads me into the bathroom, before running out into the hall.

"Where are you going?" I shout. I really don't like being alone. It's scary!

"Just stay there!" Cassia replies and she opens the door outside of her bedroom.

Ludwig, Kiku, and Feliciano are taking us to a meeting. Cassia thinks they're dipomates, or something like that.

Honestly, I'm scared.

No, that's not the right word. Apprehensive. That's the word!

I'm apprehensive because there are going to be big, scary men there! I'm not scared of Feliciano or Kiku, they seem nice…Sure Ludwig is a bit strict. but I know that he doesn't mean any harm.

Cassia comes back into the bathroom, and closes the door behind her. I see that she's carrying her panda bag.

Why would she need that? We're supposed to get ready!

"Why did you bring the bag?" I ask her. Cassia ignores me. I hate it when she does that!

Cassia puts one hand into her bag, and pulls out a couple of makeup bottles.

"What are you using that for?" I ask Cassia. "Why do we need that stuff?"

I needed to know! Cassia's ideas are so confusing, sometimes!

"Can you quit asking me questions?" Cassia says while rolling her eyes.

She doesn't have to be so mean...

Cassia opens up a couple of the bottles, and stares at them for a bit. She must be thinking.

"I think we should use them to cover up our bruises." She concludes. I nod. It's a good idea!

"Now, if we meet any other people, they won't ask what's happened to us!" I exclaim.

Cassia nods this time. She dips a finger into one of the bottles, and smears the makeup on her black eye. The swelling's gone down a bit, but it's still pretty noticeable.

The makeup covers up the bruise perfectly; it was as if it were never there! Cassia then passes me a bottle, and I cover up the bruises on my arms and legs. They never last very long, only about 3 days at most. Aunt Carol called this our "magical healing powers."

It takes a few minutes to rub on the makeup. I try to cover up the scar on my leg with the makeup, but it keeps showing through. Looks like that mark is staying.

"So, Cassia-" I start to say, but she cuts me off.

"I'm Cassandra now, remember?" She says, closing the lid on the bottle of makeup.

Oh yeah…

Cassia stuffs the makeup into her bag, and goes to the door.

"I put the clothes in your room." She says curtly before leaving.

Clothes? We didn't bring any clothes!

Maybe it has something to do with that "magic" bag Cassia told me about last night….

…

Italy's POV:

Germany, Japan, and I were waiting for Cassandra and Kathleen in the living room.

"Girls! We're ready!" I shout.

Germany sighs. "Women always take too long to get ready."

The two girls finally come downstairs.

Wow! All of their bruises are gone! Their skin looks nice and healthy!

"Ve~ You look so pretty!" I say to them. Cassandra blushes slightly, while Kathleen smiles.

"I think that we are ready to go, now." Germany says. We all leave his house, and we walk over to his car.

Germany takes out his car keys, and opens the door! I usually just hop into my car, but Germany says that it's wrong. I don't really see why…

Anyway, we all get into the car. Cassandra, Kathleen, and I pile in the back seat, while Japan and Germany sit up front!

"Ve~ how did you get rid of those bruises?" I ask Cassandra, who shifts uncomfortably in her seat. She doesn't answer me though.

Kathleen gives her a mean look, and then turns to me.

"Makeup." She says simply.

Kathleen leans over to me, and she whispers into my ear.

"I'm sorry that my sister was being rude." She tells me.

"Ve~, sometimes Ludwig is like that, too." I say to Kathleen. Her hair is so pretty. It's blonde and curly. Not as curly as fusilli bucati, but more like barbina!

Cassandra keeps staring out the window for a while. The car is suddenly so quiet. It's sort of awkward.

Time for that to change!

"Hey, Kathleen," I say to her. She looks up at me with her big, brown eyes.

"Do you know any games we can play?"

Kathleen grins and nods.

"I know some hand games we can play!"

Wow! That's so cool!

"Really?" I ask her. "Like what?"

Kathleen raises her hands. I do, too.

"This game is called Old Numbers." She tells me.

…

* * *

THIS IS AN INTERMISSION! xP NOW TO: THE WORLD 8 MEETING! :D

Somewhere in Berlin, Germany, the personifications of 5 different countries were waiting for the remaining 3 countries to show up.

"Where in the bloody hell are they?" England said. He was pacing back and forth in the room where the meeting was held. His eyebrows were angled into an angered expression.

"Dude, chill and relax!" America said, placing his feet onto the top of the table where the countries were seated at.

"Shut up, you git." England huffed. Why in the world was Germany late for a meeting in _his own _country?!

"Mon frère, why worry?" France rubbed the stubble of hair on his chin. "Just sit down and enjoy the time you have away from your kitchen!"

"Don't start talking, you frog!" England retaliated. He sat down at his chair.

"Aiyah! England's right!" China piped up, adjusting the position of his knockoff Hello Kitty- I mean, Shinatty-Chan doll, which was seated in its own chair.

"I wonder where those three are…" Russia wondered to himself. What he was actually thinking about though, is currently too scary to put into words.

"It's 3 o' clock!" England checked his watch. "They were supposed to be here by 2:30!"

Russia smiled. "Maybe they are badly injured somewhere."

The other nations stared at Russia. He simply kept smiling.

INTERMISSION OVER! D':

* * *

Italy's POV- again!

Finally, we pull into the parking lot of the really tall building that Germany's meetings are held. I've been here a couple of times, but this place always amazes me!

"Let's go, everyone." Germany says.

Cassandra opens the car door on her side, and gets out from her side. I open the other car door, and Kathleen follows me out.

Japan and Germany are already walking towards the building. Meetings are almost always fun! There are so many people there, and Germany always lets me eat pasta at the end of each one!

Once we get into the building, Germany talks to the girls.

"You two stay out here. We have important business to take care of." He says.

Cassandra and Kathleen obediently nod, before heading over to some chairs on the other side of the room.

Japan, Germany, and I pass the grand piano in the lobby to Room 1, which is our usual meeting room. It's pretty close to the lobby.

"I hope that the girls will not be able to hear our conversations." Japan says.

"Ve~, why can't they come with us?" I ask Germany. He rubs his forehead.

"You know why, Italy." Germany says.

Oh, yeah! The secret! We're not supposed to tell Cassandra and Kathleen that we're countries! I think things would be more fun of they knew, though.

We all walk through the door, and England comes right up to us.

"WHERE THE BLOODY HELL WERE YOU ALL AT?!" He yells at us.

"GERMANY!" I scream, hiding behind him. England can be so scary sometimes!

"We had a lot of traffic." Japan starts to say.

"But yet," England interrupts. "The others and I have gotten here on time." He raises an eyebrow.

Germany and England have a stare down for a minute. Things can really get intense sometimes!

"We've…gotten hold of some new…" Germany trails off.

"Some new what?" China asks.

England narrows his eyes at us.

"Comrades." Germany finishes his sentence.

England, China, America, France, and Russia keep staring at us.

"Hey Japan," I whisper to him. "Why are they like that?"

"They are most likely confused, or shocked at the information that Germany-san has given them." Japan says.

England shakes his head, and tells us to sit down.

He goes up to a board, and starts writing down stuff.

"Ve~, we can have some macaroni after this, right, Germany?" I ask him.

Germany sighs and puts his face in his hands.

What did I do?

*3*

…

Cailey's POV:

Cassia and I were now waiting in the lobby of a fancy building. As much as it was pretty, though, it was really boring, too!

We heard shouting and yelling a few minutes ago. It seemed like someone in the room was angry. I wonder what was going on in there.

I turned to talk to Cassia. She was reading a book, which no doubt came from her panda bag. I wonder who Wang Yao is… Feliciano mentioned last night that Mr. Yao would really like that bag…

"What do you think they're doing in there?" I asked Cassia.

"Obviously, they are diplomats, and they should be in a meeting." Cassia rolls her eyes at me again. "I swear, do you remember anything?"

Cassia's starting to sound sarcastic again. She always used to be that way when we lived with our parents.

**IT'S FLASHBACK TIME! :D**

"_Cassia, breakfast is ready!" Mom shouts up the stairs. I'm sitting at the table next to the kitchen. My family ate all three meals at that table. _

_Cassia comes downstairs. Her hair is so messy!_

"_What, mum?" Cassia grumbles. "I was devising a battle plan for Saturday." She sits down on a chair across from me._

_Mom looks over at us. She smiles as she comes over to us. _

"_Are you talking about that capture-the-flag competition?" Mom places a plate of eggs and bacon in front of Cassia._

_Cassia rolls her eyes. "Why else would I be preparing strategies day and night? A basketball game?" _

_Mom sighs. She can never control Cassia's moods. _

…

"_Hey, mum." Cassia says suddenly, a few minutes later. Mom looks up from her position at the stove. _

"_You didn't give me a drink."_

"_Oh yes, dear!" Mom scurries over, placing a mug next to Cassia's plate. Cassia sighs at the sight of the mug. She likes tea cups better._

_Cassia takes a sip from her mug, and spits it right out._

"_This is coffee!" She shouts. Cassia immediately pushes the mug away. _

"_Sorry, honey, but there's no more tea in the cabinet. You'll have to wait until the end of the week for more tea." Mom says. _

_Cassia groans. "Why can't you get any tea from the market? It's that simple!" _

_Mom puts her hands on her hips. "Sweetie, you'll have to wait. Can you at least _try _some coffee?" _

"_No. I refuse to drink this horribly brewed concoction made from coffee beans!" _

_Mom sighs again. She takes the mug of coffee away from Cassia, and puts it into the sink._

"_Good riddance." Cassia mumbles under her breath. _

**FLASHBACK IS DONE!**

Cassia taps me on the shoulder.

"You think I could play that?" She points.

I look to where Cassia is looking at, and I see a shiny, black, grand piano.

"Wow." I say. How did I not see that when we first came in?

Cassia closes her book, and gets up from her chair.

"Don't tell you're gonna play it!" I say to her.

Cassia steps onto the platform where the piano stands. She sits on the little chair-thingy, and starts to play.

It's so soft though, thankfully. I hope that they won't hear her! We would get in so much trouble.

Hm…I'm bored. Maybe I can get something from Cassia's bag. I walk over to her seat.

I want a pad of drawing paper, and a pencil. I want to draw something…

Suddenly, I hear a _pop _coming from the bag. I reach inside, and I find what I wanted! There's a new drawing pad, and a sharpened pencil.

Wow, this thing really _is _magical!

I go back to my seat, and start to draw. Cassia's singing now. I don't mind though, it helps me think of new designs.

{BTW, the Italics represent Cassia's singing, for now :P}

"_All of my dreams, I'm chasing after. _

_They don't need all this laughter."_

I draw a large circle. Next, I draw a smaller circle in the middle of _that _circle. Then, I draw an even smaller circle in that circle.

"_I take a grain of salt, a stiff upper lip."_

"_It's not their fault; I'm not as hip."_

"_Wake up, kid. You know…you're more than this."_

Now, for the decorations. I draw small flowers inside of the first, large circle. I separate each flower with a line.

"_I'm the smartest person that,"_

"_That I've ever met."_

Inside of the second circle, I simply draw lines extending from the outside of the third circle, to the edge of the second one.

"_So why do I allow myself to possibly forget?"_

Finally, inside of the third circle, I draw a pretty flower. It takes up the entire space of the circle.

"_There's so much I know how to do."_

"_So much more than all of you!"_

"_The only thing I wish I knew, was how to make them see,"_

"_The girl that I can be…"_

**Back to the Conference! Yay!**

Italy's POV:

It was halfway through the meeting now, and it was starting to get boring.

"Ve~ Japan," I turned to him. "What kind of pasta should I make when we get home?"

"Please be quiet, Ita-chan." Japan whispered. He turned back to England, who kept talking.

"Why isn't Germany leading this meeting?" I asked Japan.

"Italy, please stop talking. It is rude to chatter while others are talking." Japan said.

I should listen to Japan. He's very smart.

Maybe I could even try to listen to England!

"…I think that we all should take a look at point 7, which would be found in your files." England said.

America raised his hand.

England sighed and rubbed his forehead. "Yes?"

"Why ain't I the leader of this meeting?" America said.

"Ain't" is not a word, you git!" England shouted at him.

"Yeah, it is!" America pulled a dictionary out of his pocket, and read. "Ain't : contraction. Definition: am I, is not, are not, has not, have not."

England scowled at America before talking again.

"Anyway, what else were you going to say?"

"Point 7's about decreasing car-driving, right? Well, I can't do that." America stated.

"Me neither, aru." China agreed.

"What? Can't you two get your citizens to drive more environmentally efficient vehicles?"

"Nope!" China and America shouted.

"Well, Angleterre," France said. "I have to agree with America and China. Cars are very good for flirting, trust me, it works!"

"I don't want to know about your affairs, you wanker!" England shouted.

"I agree with America-san." Japan said.

"Not you too!" England said. He turned to Russia.

"What do you think?"

Russia smiled, and then answered. "I will soon develop cars that are made from people. We will be recycling, yes?"

Everyone stared at Russia.

That idea's so scary! Using p-people?!

"Ve~ h-he's scaring me!" I tell Germany. "I want pasta!"

"Can we get back on topic?!" Germany shouts.

"I am craving whale soup." Japan says suddenly.

"You still hunt whales? That's horrid!" England gasps.

"You used them for oil, didn't you?" France adds.

"BOO!" China shouts.

Then everything goes crazy! Everyone starts booing Japan. Well, except for Germany and I. I've had whale soup before, only once, though. It was ok, I guess.

"Whale sounds nice…" Russia says.

"I had whale buddies before!" America shouts.

"Shut up, git!" England yells.

"Snob!" America says back.

"You both are so stupid!" said China.

"Twit!"

"Moron!"

"Wanker!"

"A**hole!"

"Marco!" I say.

"Polo." Russia replies.

As everyone starts calling each other names, I hear something.

"'_I am the coolest girl in the whole wide world." _

"_I know it, but can't show it at all."_

The voice sounded very pretty. I wonder if anyone had a radio on outside.

"Ve~, Germany," I say. "Do you hear that singing?"

Germany stops arguing for a second. "Ja, I hear the voice, too."

"_I am, sick and tired of low, not higher places, where I should belong."_

"_It's about time I proved them wrong…"_

Everyone else quiets down.

"Dude, who is that?" America says.

"Aiyah! I hear it!" China adds.

"_Give me a shot, to show what I got!"_

"_I'm a heck of a whole lot more, than this frizzy hair, these frumpy clothes I wear."_

"_Though I rock 'em like nobody has seen before."_

We all get up from our seats, and walk towards the door.

**Oh my gosh. My hands are KILLING me! :P Enough writing for now, stay tuned for Chapter 11! :D**


	11. Chapter 11: Piano Playing and Memories

**Chapter 11:**

**I was planning on writing this chapter sooner, but school is starting in about 9 days. -.- And what's even worse, we're having uniforms this year! T.T **

**Well, here you go, everyone! :D **

**P.S. Reviews will be greatly appreciated! **

Cassia's POV:

"Cassandra!" Cailey shouts.

I sway in time with the tempo. I kept my eyes closed.

"_The coolest girl on the face of the planet, the coolest chick on earth, god damn it!" _

"_The coolest chick you've ever seen or heard." _

I was singing and playing the piano. It's been so long since the last time I played, which was for one of Aunt Carol's guests. That was when she treated us decently.

"_So you can try to bring me down, but sorry guys, I'm sticking around!"_

"_I've thought about it, and I've found that I am…"_

I hear someone shout my name louder. My mind is too absorbed into the music. Playing the piano was the only way I can truly express my emotions, in a way that won't get me slapped. It was.

"_The coolest…girl!"_

I stop swaying as I finish up the song.

Suddenly I hear people applauding me.

I open my eyes. Cailey is in front of me, fear in her wide eyes.

"Dude, that was awesome!" An unfamiliar voice shouts out.

I gulp and turn my head towards the voice.

_Oh my gosh. _I think.

Standing in front of me are Ludwig, Feliciano, and Kiku. But it's not them that's making me think.

There are 5 other men there.

Cailey leaps off the platform and onto her knees in front of Ludwig.

"I'm sorry! Cassandra didn't mean to touch the piano! Please don't hit me! I should have stopped her!" Cailey pleads.

I get off the platform and step in front of her.

"If there's anyone to hit, it should be me." I say, looking up at Ludwig.

This is just like the old routine at home. Cailey would do something wrong, and I would always take her place for punishment.

But Ludwig doesn't hit us. He just stares at us.

"Now vhy vould I hit you?" Ludwig asks.

Cailey gets up and hides behind me.

"We did something bad. We have to be punished." She says.

Ludwig just shakes his head. "I vill never hurt you two."

I look at him suspiciously. He looks sincere.

Then I remember that the other men are there. I turn towards them, and they all have the same look of confusion on their faces.

Feliciano pats my head.

"Ve~ You play the piano so well!" He says.

"Oh, um…thank you." I say sheepishly.

Feliciano then turns to the others.

"These are our new friends, Cassandra and Kathleen. Kathleen is the smaller one, and Cassandra was the one playing piano!" He smiles.

Kathleen is still hiding behind me.

A man wearing glasses comes up to me, and shakes my hand.

"'Sup dude! I'm Alfred F. Jones, also known as the hero!"

_Ok? He must be the American diplomat._

The man with the scarf and heavy coat comes up to me.

"привет!" (Privet!) "I am Ivan Braginski."

"What?" I ask.

The man chuckles. "That is 'hello' in Russian."

_Oh. I though he said Pre-vet. _

Ivan's eyes look away for a second.

"I've met you before!" Ivan says happily, embracing Cailey in a hug.

I'm too surprised to help her.

"You have?!" The others shout.

Ivan nods.

"She summoned me," He points to Cailey.

"WHAT?" I say.

Cailey shrinks back. "I-I can't explain right now!"

Tears start to form in her eyes as everyone stares at her.

"I-I shouldn't have done it!" She sobs.

Feliciano goes over to her, and leads her to another corner of the room.

Another man comes up to me and shakes my hand.

_Is that a man or a woman? _I wonder. He's holding a Hello Kitty doll, and has long hair wrapped into a ponytail.

"Hello! My name is Wang Yao, as you say in the western world."

A man with shoulder length blonde hair holds my hand in his.

_Holy crap! Is that…_

_No, it can't be him! How could he have followed me here!_

"'ello mon cherie." The man says in a French accent.

_He even sounds like him!_

Before I can open my mouth to ask a question, he speaks again.

"My name is Francis Bonnefoy."

He kisses my hand.

_Ok, so he's not Nathan. They look so similar, though._

"Stop kissing up to children, you frog!" A loud British voice rings out.

Francis gets pushed away by another man.

The man comes into view, and I realize something.

This man has the same green eyes and bushy eyebrows as I.

"Are you Arthur?" I ask him. He lifts his eyebrows in surprise.

"H-how do you know?" He stutters.

Feliciano steps in. "Ve~ she looks like you, right?"

The others look at Arthur and I.

Arthur sticks out his hand, and I shake it.

A sudden shock shoots through my arm.

* * *

**FLASHBACK:**

"_Father, where's mummy going?" A little girl in a white slip asks._

_The room has green walls, and a plush brown carpet. _

"_It's alright." A voice says reassuringly. The person isn't in view. _

_A door off scene slams shut. The girl starts to cry, tears making stains on her slip. _

**FLASHBACK OVER:**

* * *

"OW!" Arthur and I shout loudly.

_Did he get the shock too? Did he see the same memory?_

But before I can ask, Alfred crashes into me, causing me to bump into Arthur.

"You git!" We both shout at him.

Arthur and I stare at each other for a second.

"Sorry," we apologize to each other.

"Dude! She _does_ look like you!" Alfred shouts out.

Wang stares at me also. "I agree. It's the hair that makes them different, aru."

I look up at Arthur again. His hair is the same shade as Cailey's. Mine is a light brown.

"Are you by any chance related?" Ludwig asks.

Arthur's face turned into a scowl.

"No, we're not!" He sputters.

Francis comes over and starts to stroke Arthur's hair. He acts so much like Nathan!

"Oh, Arthur, 'ave you been keeping secrets from us?" He says.

"No, I haven't! Now unhand me you fobbish twit!" Arthur shoves Francis away.

"Yeah," I agree. "I've never seen him before."

Francis looks from Arthur to me.

"Are you sure?"

We both nod.

Suddenly, Wang Yao shrieks loudly. Francis and Arthur stop fighting for a few moments.

"Whose bag is this, aru?!" Wang grabs my panda bag off of the chair.

I raise my hand slowly.

"IT'S SO CUTE!" He embraces me in a hug.

_Wow, Feliciano was right!_

"I must tell you, I love pandas so much!" Wang hugs his Hello Kitty doll.

I look at the doll more closely. It has a really weird smile drawn on it.

"This is Shinatty-Chan!" He hands my bag to me.

_What the…Shinatty-Chan?!_

"Vell, ve should get going now." Ludwig says.

After a few goodbyes, Feliciano, Ludwig, Kiku, Cailey, and I leave the building. The other men follow us out. They each head to their own cars.

"Ve~ we should go sightseeing at my place!" Feliciano says happily. We all pile into the car.

"If that makes you happy." Ludwig replies from the driver's seat.

* * *

**I know, it's not my best, but I felt like I had to upload a new chapter. :P **

**Until next time, salut! :)**


	12. Chapter 12: Roaming Around Italy

**Chapter 12: Roaming Around in Italy**

**A/N: I feel as if it's been SO LONG since I've updated this! I want to apologize for my lack of posts. School started 2 weeks ago, and I think you know what that means. -.- **

**But as always, enjoy!**

Italy's POV:

"VENEZIANO!?" A voice shouts out.

I look away from the girls.

I see fratello coming over!

"Hi, Romano!" I yell, waving my hand.

"Where the hell were you?" Romano walks over our table.

He then sees Cassandra and Kathleen.

"Oh…um…" He stutters.

I don't know why he is acting like this.

"Ve~ Lovino, this is Cassandra, and her sorella, Kathleen!" I point to the two girls.

Kathleen tries to slide away from where Romano is sitting next to her, but Cassandra shakes her head.

"Ciao." Romano mutters flatly, before turning back to me.

"I bet you were at that potato bastard's house, right?" Romano asks.

I look at him worriedly.

"Fratello, please don't say that in front of the principessas!"

Romano looks at the two girls, and sighs.

"You were Ludwig's house, right?" He asks again.

I nod.

Romano curses under his breath.

A waitress comes over to our table.

"Che cosa vorresti ordinare?" She says.

"Pasta!" Romano and I say at the same time.

The waitress chuckles.

"Put extra tomatoes in it." Romano says, smiling at the lady.

"Ve~ I just want cheese on mine!"

"And-a you two?" The waitress asks Cassandra and Kathleen in English.

"Do you have pizza?" Cassandra crosses her arms.

"Of-a course!" The lady cheers, writing the order down on her notepad.

"Can I have pasta, too?" Kathleen asks quietly.

The waitress nods. She then rushes off.

"How did get those two?" Romano points to the two girls, who are talking.

"We found them on a road in America!" I tell him, drumming my hands on the table.

Romano's eyes widen.

"What?"

"We don't know how they got there, but it's fun having them around!"

Romano doesn't say anything else, just stares at me.

It makes me feel uncomfortable.

"What have you been doing at that bastard's house, anyway?" Romano finally says.

"Big brother, please don't say that!" I plead.

Cassandra and Kathleen stop talking.

"Were you just cursing, right now?" Cassandra questions Romano.

"Stop it, Cassandra!" Kathleen gasps.

"Yes, I was." Romano responds. "I'm sorry."

"Wow Lovino! I didn't think you would be so nice!" I blurt out.

"Shut up, will you?" Romano says.

"Ve~ but why?"

Romano ignores me, and starts talking to Cassandra.

…

"Ecco a voi, signori." The waitress comes back, holding a couple of plates in her hands.

"Graci." Romano thanks the lady.

We pass the plate of pizza to Kathleen. She smiles widely before digging in.

"Ve~ do you want some cheese on your pasta?" I ask Cassandra.

"Or some tomatoes?" Romano asks.

Cassandra shakes her head.

"This is the best pizza ever!" Kathleen shouts happily. Cheese is spilling onto her chin!

I take a napkin, and wipe the cheese off.

"Of course, pizza is always better in South Italy." Romano tells the two girls.

"By the way, do you eat pasta all of the time, Feliciano?" Cassandra asks.

"Of course!" I answer loudly.

Cassandra tilts her head a little bit.

"Really? That's all you eat?" She inquires.

"Yeah, why?" Romano says suspiciously.

"Nothing." Cassandra sips her drink.

For a few moments, everyone is so quiet.

"Ve~ I was going to take Cassandra and Cailey to the Torre di Pisa!" I tell Romano.  
"Do you want to come?"

Romano looks up for a moment. "Is that damn potato eater coming?"

I shake my head.

"Fine. I'll go." Romano huffs.

"Are you all done?" The waitress comes by.

"Si!" I tell her.

We all pass on our plates.

"Here's the check." The lady places a paper in front of me.

I wonder how I should thank Romano for paying the bill!

Romano sighs. "You didn't bring any money, now did you?"

"Nope!"

"Why can't you pay for anything? It always has to be someone else!" Romano says angrily.

"I'm sorry, fratello!" I plead sadly.

"Stop crying, you fool!" Romano says. He takes out a wallet, and leaves the money on top of the check.

And together, we all leave the restaurant table, heading to Pisa!

* * *

Germany's POV:

"Yo France, pass the beer!" Prussia shouts to my right.

I sigh, as France takes another beer of the table, and hands it to my older brother.

Right now, I was seated in between Prussia and France. They decided to all meet in my house tonight.

Unfortunately, I was alone in this situation. Japan had left some time after Italy and the girls went.

"Why don't you taste some wine, mon ami? It tastes better, and is good for you!" France mused, taking a sip out of his glass.

"Nein, that shit tastes like crap!" Prussia laughs. "Right, Spain?"

Spain cocks his head.

"Actually, I think that wine is better than beer." He replies.

Prussia spits out his beer in surprise, splashing the drink onto my uniform pants.

"DUMPKOPH!" I roared. "CLEAN ZIS MESS UP IMMEDITALY."

Prussia ignores me. "But beer is vhat makes me who I am! No one can resist the awesomeness of beer!"

I get off of the couch furiously, and storm out of the room, and into the kitchen.

"C'mon bro, don't be so pissy!" Prussia's shouts follow me into the kitchen.

I've had enough of those idiots. Having Bruder, France, and Spain in the same house at the same house wasn't pleasant.

Suddenly, I hear the front door open.

Hm…Italy must be back from touring.

"Oh, you girls are here!" I hear Prussia exclaim.

I can't let Cassandra and Kathleen get harassed by those idiots.

I quickly walk into the room, and I find Italy and Romano standing in the living room. Cassandra and Cailey are there, too.

"GERMANY!" Italy immediately embraces me in a hug.

I freeze up, causing Italy to let go of me.

"Fucking stupid brother." Romano mutters.

"_Feliciano_," I emphasize his name, "my name is Ludwig, remember?" I tell him.

Italy starts to sob.

"I'm so sorry, Ludwig!" He cries. "I forgot! I didn't mean to!"

While Romano tells Italy to shut up, I glance at the two girls.

But Cassandra and Kathleen aren't listening.

Actually, Cassandra was spinning around the room, flinging her arms about.

"So, how was Italy?" I ask Kathleen.

Cassandra stops spinning.

"It was so wonderful, YAY!" She shouts happily, starting to spin around again.

I haven't known Cassandra for a long time, but she doesn't seem to be acting like herself.

I kneel down next to Kathleen. She tenses up a little.

"What happened to your sister?" I ask.

"She started acting weird after we toured Italy." Kathleen answers.

"PASTAAAAA!" Cassandra yells suddenly.

She spins once more, before knocking her arm into Prussia's. His beer flies out of his hand, spilling all over the carpet.

"MY BEER!" Prussia screams, diving for his glass, and landing onto the puddle of beer.

I sigh. This means more time needed for cleaning the mess.

France then starts to laugh lazily.

"You know, it would have been better if you had some wine! The smell would have been pleasant on the carpet!" France slides off of the couch, obviously drunk.

This was not good.

Italy goes to Cassandra, trying to calm her down.

Romano turns to me, and opens his mouth to say something. But before he can, Spain wobbles over.

"Hola, Lovi!" Spain leans onto Romano.

"GET OFF ME, TOMATO BASTARD!" He shouts, trying to lift the hiccupping Spaniard off of him.

It looks like "The Bad Friends Trio," are drunk. I figured that they would get into this state soon enough, since they kept drinking about 3 glasses of beer and wine per minute.

"Great. Now Antonio's drunk, you ass hole." Romano hisses.

I decide to take charge of the current problem.

"ALRIGHT. PRUSSIA TAKE YOUR FRIENDS TO YOUR HOUSE."

And by house, I mean basement. It is where Prussia now resides.

"Fine, lil bruder." Prussia retorts stubbornly. "My place is way awesomer, anyway!"

Prussia, France, and Spain then stagger downstairs, but not without France blowing a kiss to Cassandra on the way.

As the door leading to the basement slams shut, I sit down on the couch.

Cassandra is seated on the other side, swinging her legs happily and humming.

"Italy was-a so fun!" Cassandra giggled. "We went to a restaurant and ate pasta!"

"Why in the world is she acting like this, Feliciano!?" I turn to Italy.

"I didn't do anything, I swear! We just went sightseeing and ate pasta!" He tells me quickly.

Wait- this happened to Japan once before…

"We should just wait until the odd behavior wears off. " I concluded.

"So can we leave the damn potato eater's house now?" Romano states impatiently.

Italy sighs sadly. He goes up to his guest room to pack up his things.

I think for a moment.

If Cassandra and Kathleen stay here, then they could possibly be traumatized by my bruder's actions.

Maybe it's a better idea for the girl's to stay at Italy's house for a while.

"I think you too should go with Feliciano and Lovino." I advised the two.

Cassandra takes off from the couch, and runs up the stairs, while Kathleen keeps standing.

"Are you sure it's okay?" She asks me.

I nod.

Kathleen nods back before running off after her sister.

"So they're coming with us, huh?" Romano inquires.

"Ja. Just…take care of them alright?" I ask him.

Romano rolls his eyes. "Fine. Only for Feli, though. I'm not doing shit for you."

Italy comes back downstairs holding his suitcase, Cassandra and Kathleen close behind.

Romano walks to the door, and walks out without another word.

Italy drops his suitcases, and gives me another hug.

"I promise to take extra super-duper care of them, ok?" He promises.

Italy, Cassandra, and Kathleen all wave goodbye once more before exiting the house.

* * *

**A/N: Thank you so much for reading all of this! I feel so happy whenever someone favorites, follows, or reviews this! :D**

**I'll try to update as much as I can! **

**A tout l'heure!**


	13. Chapter 13: INTERMISSION

**New Circumstances: Intermission**

**A/N: HAH! DIDN'T SEE THAT COMING, DID YOU? **

**But anyway, this chapter will be the foundation for a better plot line that I came up with, and I hope that you guys will like it! :D**

* * *

"CAROL!" A deep, rough voice rang out in the nearly dark room.

"Yes, sir?" A sly feminine voice replied.

"Do you have the targets?"

The woman hesitated. She didn't want to admit that the two girls had run from her clutches.

"Carol?" The voice asked, dangerously soft.

Carol bit her lip.

A light suddenly flicked on. Carol finally saw the face of her boss. She hadn't seen it for about a year.

"Wow, do you look as sharp as ever, Lawrence." Carol tried to smooth talk the man.

"Enough of that crap, Carol! You don't the girls, do you?"

Carol couldn't keep the secret for any longer.

"Yes, they've escaped."

"Where!? I gave you _one _job, which was to look over those girls until we were ready to move forward with our goal." Lawrence uttered, coming dangerously close to her.

"I've also heard that you have come down with a severe case of alcoholism."

Carol's eyes narrowed, and pushed Lawrence from her personal space. "So I drink a couple of times a week. What's so bad about that?"

Lawrence shook his head angrily. "I'm now regretting my previous choice of hiring you to the project's stabilization staff."

"It's not like I did anything bad." Carol retorted.

"You abused these children! Yes, you were supposed to watch over them until the plan could come into play, but now they've escaped!"

Carol stamped her heel on the floor. "Those shits deserved it, though!"

Lawrence balled his hands into fists. "You don't realize how close we were to getting exposed. Do you know how much time we've spent convincing the governments of the world to agree with our plan?"

The woman rolled her eyes. "Of course, I know, you douchedick."

Lawrence glared at his staff member, wondering how she even got accepted into the team in the first place.

Before he could continue, however, another man came into view.

"Sir! We've gotten some new coordinates for the other subjects!" The man shouted happily.

Lawrence smiled for once, and turned from Carol to the man.

"Yes, Johnson?"

Johnson gathered up his strength; he usually was a mere background character.

"The Allies for the R.O.T.A. project have been recently spotted together! This means that they'll be easier to capture!" The young man exclaimed giddily.

"Excellent!" Lawrence shook Johnson's hand. He took the some papers from the latter's arms, and scanned them over.

The grin from Lawrence's face quickly turned into an expression of confusion. He furrowed his eyebrows.

"What do these percentages mean?" Lawrence inquired, grabbing onto Johnson's back before he can escape from the room.

"Oh, it's nothing! The numbers only mean that the DNA from the English one and the Italian one got mixed up!" Johnson blurted out. He quickly looked at his wrist, pretending that there was a watch on it.

"Oh, wow! Dinner's ready! Guess I have to go now-Bye!" Johnson tried to scurry away, but Lawrence squeezed into his arm.

"EEYAH! That hurts!" The younger man cried out.

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN, THE DNA GOT MIXED UP!?" Lawrence yelled out angrily, getting ready to punch Johnson in the face.

"Looks like you're in trouble, hun." Carol said from the other side of the room.

"Hush up, you!" Lawrence shouted over his shoulder. He turned back to Johnson, who was desperately trying to get away from Lawrence's tight grip.

"U-uh, it's nothing! Really! This only means that the two girls have inherited genes from both!" Johnson waited for Lawrence to strike him.

Lawrence's face turned a bright red. He clenched and unclenched his hands, while Carol laughed at the two.

"Get out of here, now." Lawrence uttered dangerously.

"Y-yes, sir!" Johnson saluted his boss, and dashed out of the room, frightened for his life.

Lawrence rubbed his forehead miserably, and looked up at Carol.

"I'm giving you one more chance to redeem yourself." He pointed at her. After seeing the woman nod, he went on.

"Track down those girls. Find out where they are residing, inform me right away, and we'll try to get them back to Philadelphia. We can proceed from there."

Carol nodded again, and was about to leave the room when Lawrence spoke for the last time that evening.

"Just don't kill them, ok?"

* * *

**A/N: I'm pretty sure that you guys already know who "Carol" is. As for Lawrence and Johnson, they are minor characters, and will most likely not show up again until the end of the story! **

**I am already writing the 13th chapter, though I suggest that you don't hope for something exciting...because it won't be, really. :P**


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